Save our Mother
Posted on 09. Jul, 2010 by Laurika in Features, Green collaboration
We all know that Mother Earth is in trouble. You only need to open a newspaper or click on a news site and the term climate change stares back at you accusingly. While there are some that say it’s all just hype, most of us believe what we’re seeing: the diminishing polar ice cap, the dying fish, the changing rain patterns across the world…
I’ve asked myself plenty of times, what can I do? I mean I’m one person, how can I make a difference? And the answer I’ve come to, is that I can do it one tiny step at a time. If millions of people take the same small steps then it all adds up to something big.
One of those tiny steps as you might have guessed is to use collaboration tools. If every business starts to use collaboration, imagine how green we can make the planet.
I’m a sole trader so I don’t employ people. But I do have customers. Most of them are spread across the UK and Europe. I even have a few in The US and Canada. There is no way that I can meet them face-to-face. Actually, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of face-to-face meetings I’ve had during the past 18 months.
My work is done online, via traditional methods such as email, but I also use Skype and collaboration tools which include whiteboards and workspaces to interact with my customers. I find this quite liberating. I never have to stand in front of the cupboard trying to pick out an outfit that would be acceptable to my client. A corporate customer will expect a business suit type of an outfit, whereas a creative agency would be more impressed with something quirky and original. A lot of thought goes into what I wear.
Also I don’t need to spend time on the Transport for London website planning my tube route or Google Maps deliberating my driving route. I’m not advocating not having any meetings, ever, but I think we are so used to having face to face meetings that we are sometimes unwilling to consider other options.
Why not put face-to-face meetings on the back burner for a while and try online collaboration tools, see where it goes. Not only will you cut on travel time and cost but you’ll also do your little bit for the environment. And I promise you, you’ll save money on your clothing bill too.
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