Is your journey really necessary, or could you hold an audio, web or video conference instead?

It’s a question that a growing number of companies are asking their drivers.

The Regus Group, which operates a worldwide network of video-conferencing studios, has seen a 40% increase in bookings by companies looking to replace business travel.

And it expects the reduction in business travel to continue given the tough economic conditions.

It calculates that a video-conference meeting cuts the average cost of business travel by 75%, based on the fact that some travel to and from its studios is necessary.

For companies with their own video-conferencing facilities, the cost is cut 100%.

Lower emissions, less congestion

Regus also points out the environmental benefits. “Lower hydrocarbon emissions, reduced fuel consumption and less traffic congestion makes video-conferencing a greener way to work,” says Mark Dixon, CEO of the Regus Group.

BT, not surprisingly, has been one of the companies at the forefront of virtual meetings, replacing 300,000 face-to-face meetings a year with phone, web and video-conferences.

It has reduced BT’s carbon footprint by 60% over the past decade. And other organisations are catching on.

The Environment Agency, with a fleet of about 6,000 vehicles, started using audio and video-conferencing five years ago. In the past two years, it has also used web-conferencing.

“From 2012 the Environment Agency will regulate in excess of 50% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions so we have a responsibility to lead by example on reducing environmental impacts, including emissions from our business travel,” says Carolyn Thraves, environmental management policy adviser.

To encourage the use of technology, the Environment Agency has a ‘travel hierarchy’ in place – essentially a list of questions employees should go through before making their journey.

"It starts by asking whether the journey is necessary or whether video, web or audio-conferencing could be used.

"If the journey is necessary, staff are then asked to consider public transport and, if that isn’t viable, to consider which car should be used for the journey (either a pool, hire or lease car).

So far, audio-conferencing is the most widely used technology.

Thraves says that throughout 2008-9, the number of audio-conferences increased from 2,300 to 4,000 a month.

But web conferencing is catching on, too, and has the benefit of allowing staff to share documents and view presentations live online.

The main benefit has been the reduction in business miles. The Environment Agency estimates it saves 1.5 million miles a month and approximately 500 tonnes of CO2.

Over the past two years it has reduced its business mileage by 15% (8.9 million miles) which has been helped by using these technologies.

Savings in the fuel bill have more than made up for the cost of the technology, according to Thraves.

She says that holding an audio or web conference is inexpensive – costing the Environment Agency just a few pence per minute.

Duty of care

BCA, with a fleet of more than 300 vehicles, is another business using video-conferencing. “For a company such as ours with a UK-wide network, it was a straightforward decision to install this technology on a regional hub basis,” says Tony Gannon, communications director.

The majority of BCA’s UK centres now have a video-conferencing suite.

For Marie Jarrold, BCA’s car fleet controller, the benefit is duty of care as well as the environment.

“It’s paramount that our drivers don’t travel the length of the country, arrive for a meeting that is subsequently cancelled and then have to come all the way back,” she says.