Happy New Year, for those who celebrate it today. With this title, I am not talking about our local basketball team in Boston, but the idea of carbon neutral teams that Jessica Lipnack discusses at Endless Knots. As she writes, “For years, we've been singing the praises of virtual teams for their ability to bring together differing perspectives, amass greater intelligence, and gain the benefit of more human diversity--then wrap it all together in a world where the sun never sets. Nice stuff. Along the way, people have also been pointing out that working at a distance is less expensive, less stressful, and more environmentally friendly.”
Now, as Jessica notes, some companies are attempting to go beyond simply being green and become carbon neutral through a combination of energy savings and purchasing carbon offsets. Ironically, one of the first is a Rupert Murdoch (as in all the trees waiting to be cut for the New York Post) company in the UK. Perhaps a better way for them to offset their carbon emissions than plating a tree in Africa would be to shut down the Post.
Anyway, the energy savings part is a good idea and Jessica has some good suggestions the next time your plan to travel to a team meeting. There are times like interviews where I find virtual meetings to work better because I can focus on what is being said and taking notes, as well as looking at my key questions while talking. In the days of in personal meetings, I would often have to bring an extra person to take the notes. Another trend is the blogging of conferences so that only one team representative needs to go and the others can have real time conversations on the event in time to provide feedback.
I now look for firms like WebEx and Go to Meeting to start having green commercials in 08. Which, in their case, will be legitimate unlike some ads I have seen. Some energy ideas can be problematic like these new energy saving light bulbs than contain dangerous chemical like mercury whose pollution they cause in manufacturing and disposal is likely much worst than the benefit from the energy they save. Bottled water does not pretend to be environmentally friendly but many people who are concerned about the environment do not realize what an environmental disaster it is from the fuel to haul what is, in many cases, tap water to the disposal of all that plastic which rarely gets recycled. My practice is to simply refill the bottle from the tap when it is done so I still have the utility of the container. In my last home I did this with the same bottle for two years. Think of all the carbon emissions I saved. Rupert would be proud.
Having gotten off on a rant, I do you suggest you visit Jessica’s suggestions as they do make sense. She closes with a carbon neutral soccer team and it is not playing in Second Life.
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