Green metering
April 16th, 2008, 1:32 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Ed Taylor
A Phoenix-based software company is offering a feature with its Web conferencing software that calculates the carbon dioxide savings of each Web conference.
The so-called “Green Meter” by iLinc uses a mathematical algorithm to detect the locations of people who are participating in a Web conference and measures the distance between the participants and the meeting leader – calculating the amount of travel eliminated and measuring the amount of CO2 saved. The program recognizes what means of travel would commonly be used for the distance (car, small aircraft, large aircraft, etc.) and figures the CO2 savings and associated environmental and financial savings.
iLinc President James M. Powers Jr. claimed he got the idea for the Green Meter during a lunch meeting with Al Gore.
“I had what you might call an ‘aha’ moment,” Powers said, adding that “we know there is a direct connection between Web conferencing software and environmental sustainability.”
According to the company, the state of Arizona saved about 300,000 pounds of carbon emissions in the first quarter of 2008 alone by Web conferencing, as calculated by the Green Meter.
The meter does not factor in any increased consumption of electricity related to the Web conference, but a company spokeswoman said the software is used primarily by organizations that would likely have their computers operating anyway.