Virtual Meetings Offer Potential to Slash Corporate Travel by 70 per cent
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Corporate Europe poised to capitalise on productivity and environmental drivers
LONDON, UK, 16 March, 2006 – European business executives claim that less than three out of every ten meetings need face-to-face communications, and that technology could be utilised instead to gain lost travel time while improving productivity and the quality of business level decision making.
Furthermore, while executives acknowledge the need for businesses to consider environmental issues, there is little evidence that this is impacting corporate travel policies even with rising travel costs. These are the key findings of a survey sponsored by Interwise®, a global leader in enterprise conferencing solutions, into business travel by European business executives.
“Businesses in Europe recognise the need to reduce carbon emissions and actively consider environmental issues as part of their corporate travel policies. Virtual meeting technologies now provide the means to make this possible. Eliminating a long haul from London to New York equates to a 1.2 tonnes saving of carbon dioxide,” said Tony Gasson, vice president EMEA, Interwise.
The survey respondents indicated that travel by air, road or rail for business meetings is frequent and commonplace throughout Europe. Almost a third of respondents (30.2 per cent) said that they attended more than four meetings out of the office each month while 25.0 per cent said that they attended more than two meetings per week out of the office.
The business executives questioned said that only 22.7 per cent of meetings needed to be held face-to-face. Interwise believes that face to face meetings are only required when there is a social element as part of the meeting, such as the initial creation of a personal relationship, or where there is a conflict situation that needs to be addressed.
Traditional web and TDM/voice conferencing combined are credible alternatives to business travel for meetings, but because those services are usually purchased on a per-minute or concurrent user basis, access and usage is often restricted to less than 20 per cent of employees in an organisation to avoid escalating subscription costs.
Only a third (33.9 per cent) of executives said that they understood what their companies spend on conferencing, with 64.1 per cent unaware of the cost. 26.9 per cent said that their use of conferencing facilities had been limited in the past due to budget restrictions.
The rise of environmental issues as a business driver is supported by the fact that 57.5 per cent of respondents would feel more motivated coming to work if they felt personally empowered to make choices at work that would reduce carbon emissions.
But corporate organisations are clearly not recognising this need. Road and rail is the most common means of travel for business executives closely followed by air.
A quarter (25.0 per cent) of respondents said that they make more than 100 rail journeys per year for business. 18.9 per cent of respondents said that they typically made more than 100 car journeys per year, or two per week, while 12.1 per cent of respondents reported taking more than one flight per week, or 50 per year, equating to at least six tonnes of carbon dioxide.
“Face to face meetings are essential in some instances such as introductions, to address conflict or close a deal. But there a numerous occasions where technology could be substituted for travel giving time, productivity and carbon dioxide savings,” said Tony Gasson, vice president Europe, Interwise.
Interwise interviewed 230 business executive for the European Business Travel survey in France, Germany and the UK during January and February 2006.
Corporate Europe poised to capitalise on productivity and environmental drivers
LONDON, UK, 16 March, 2006 – European business executives claim that less than three out of every ten meetings need face-to-face communications, and that technology could be utilised instead to gain lost travel time while improving productivity and the quality of business level decision making.
Furthermore, while executives acknowledge the need for businesses to consider environmental issues, there is little evidence that this is impacting corporate travel policies even with rising travel costs. These are the key findings of a survey sponsored by Interwise®, a global leader in enterprise conferencing solutions, into business travel by European business executives.
“Businesses in Europe recognise the need to reduce carbon emissions and actively consider environmental issues as part of their corporate travel policies. Virtual meeting technologies now provide the means to make this possible. Eliminating a long haul from London to New York equates to a 1.2 tonnes saving of carbon dioxide,” said Tony Gasson, vice president EMEA, Interwise.
The survey respondents indicated that travel by air, road or rail for business meetings is frequent and commonplace throughout Europe. Almost a third of respondents (30.2 per cent) said that they attended more than four meetings out of the office each month while 25.0 per cent said that they attended more than two meetings per week out of the office.
The business executives questioned said that only 22.7 per cent of meetings needed to be held face-to-face. Interwise believes that face to face meetings are only required when there is a social element as part of the meeting, such as the initial creation of a personal relationship, or where there is a conflict situation that needs to be addressed.
Traditional web and TDM/voice conferencing combined are credible alternatives to business travel for meetings, but because those services are usually purchased on a per-minute or concurrent user basis, access and usage is often restricted to less than 20 per cent of employees in an organisation to avoid escalating subscription costs.
Only a third (33.9 per cent) of executives said that they understood what their companies spend on conferencing, with 64.1 per cent unaware of the cost. 26.9 per cent said that their use of conferencing facilities had been limited in the past due to budget restrictions.
The rise of environmental issues as a business driver is supported by the fact that 57.5 per cent of respondents would feel more motivated coming to work if they felt personally empowered to make choices at work that would reduce carbon emissions.
But corporate organisations are clearly not recognising this need. Road and rail is the most common means of travel for business executives closely followed by air.
A quarter (25.0 per cent) of respondents said that they make more than 100 rail journeys per year for business. 18.9 per cent of respondents said that they typically made more than 100 car journeys per year, or two per week, while 12.1 per cent of respondents reported taking more than one flight per week, or 50 per year, equating to at least six tonnes of carbon dioxide.
“Face to face meetings are essential in some instances such as introductions, to address conflict or close a deal. But there a numerous occasions where technology could be substituted for travel giving time, productivity and carbon dioxide savings,” said Tony Gasson, vice president Europe, Interwise.
Interwise interviewed 230 business executive for the European Business Travel survey in France, Germany and the UK during January and February 2006.
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