An event services outfit called Synanto is pitching conference venues on a highly energy-efficient electronic system to replace carbon-hungry, paper-based business meeting agendas, minutes,and presentations.
The MeetingPod, a paperless, electronic meeting system, is designed to help meeting venues lower their carbon footprint and attract an increasing number of environmentally conscious customers, according to the company.
"Venues are starting to look at their corporate social responsibility policies very closely," says Dave Wickett, Synanto's sales director. "By not having a strategy to reduce their carbon footprint, many meeting and conference venues are telling us that they are starting to lose business."
The MeetingPod is a personal electronic tool that stores meeting agendas, minutes, and presentations at a fraction of the energy required to power a laptop computer, according to Synanto. The product also eliminates the need for a projector for presentations, further reducing energy use.
"Each piece of paper used in a meeting has the equivalent carbon emissions of burning a 60-watt light bulb for one hour," says Wickett. "A meeting of ten people will typically have emissions of around 1.6 kilograms of CO2 - equivalent to driving a typical 4x4 for six miles. The same meeting, using the MeetingPod, would have a carbon footprint of only 0.2 kilograms of CO2."
The MeetingPod is up against some stiff competition, as many companies turn to videoconferencing technology to reduce their carbon footprint from business travel. Deloitte, for example, recently contracted with Nortel to equip its 130 offices worldwide with videoconferencing software - no meeting venues required.
via | Sustainable Life Media
