It’s been said many a time that one way to reduce a company’s footprint is by using web conferencing tools rather than flying everybody to meet in person. Noble, efficient and potentially cost saving as that is, there’s one problem: There’s been no way to quantify just how much of a difference it’s actually making. Sure, saved costs of flight, transport, accommodations are easy to calculate. But how about reduced emissions? And even if you were to know that, how can that be translated into a figure meaningful to our everyday lives?

iLinc has created the Green Meter to give concreteness and life to the abstract. It calculates the CO2, cost, and travel reductions accrued while using their service, down to the individual level. When companies are required to reduce their carbon footprint, whether internally or by the government where they do business, this will prove an invaluable tool. And in this fragile, downwardly spiraling economy, being financially prudent with your expenses will be increasingly important.

While there are many who will take the green benefits at face value, for those that need more than a simple assurance that this is the better option, the Green Meter provides that in spades. It makes me wonder what other “green” products and services out there would improve sales by finding tangible ways like this to quantify the difference between their and the non green options. Act2GreenSmart is another example I see out there now.

iLinc has clearly thought their marketing through, making such solid points as, “Just by eliminating travel, you’ll save enough time and money to improve or expand your online training programs. “

That’s great, but how’s the service? Flexible, from the looks of it. iLinc can be shaped to work for conducting meetings, teaching classes, doing webinars, and even customer service. They offer audio conferencing as a standalone option, whether for spontaneous domestic conferences to international, giving local access to those out of the US. Their EventPlus service can be used to simplify the process of managing one to many paid virtual events.

Daily demonstrations of the iLinc system are available. I’d say go see for yourself how it stacks up to what you use now. And with the added component of the Green Meter keeping precise track of your lightened impact, both ecological and economical, this just may be the best web based conferencing tool out there.

Readers: What other ways does your company use technology or other methods to reduce its impact? Whether elaborate or simple and brilliant, we’d like to hear about them!

Further reading:

10 Business Practices That Reduce Your Carbon Footprint : Ecopreneurist

Carbon Offsets: Creating Something From Hot Air : Ecopreneurist

Case Study of Tetrapak’s Carbon Offsetting Program : Ecopreneurist