Tustin, CA, September 2008

Like an increasing number of firms today, LDS & Associates’ 2008 mission includes redoubled efforts to ‘green’ the company. As of January 2008, no print catalogs are available and many of our product manuals are in electronic format or online. An unexpected boost for these efforts has recently come from iLinc, the web conferencing provider used in the LDS Online Training Center (OTC). “As distance learning providers, we have frequently touted the cost savings for participants and presenters in terms of time, travel, etc. We’ve never seen the hard data collection to support it that we’d love to mention to interested participants,” says Lorna Sikorski, who overseas the OTC for LDS & Associates.

In May 2008, iLinc, rolled out the iLinc Green Meter that calculates the carbon emissions savings for each attendee and LDS overall. The numbers are based on a mathematical algorithm that detects the locations of the people that attend a Web conference via IP address and measures the distance between the meeting participants and the meeting leader. The software then calculates the distance traveled that is eliminated and measures the amount of CO2 saved by using the Web conference. The program recognizes what means of travel would commonly be used for the distance (such as car, small aircraft, large aircraft, etc.) and keeps a running tab of the CO2 savings and its associated environmental and financial costs. “Seeing the webinar snapshot of green savings of an average group of web participants in action really brings home the significant savings of quality online programs. The fun part is that individuals can see their own personal savings during a webinar!” continued Ms. Sikorski.