Verdantix Produces Telepresence Revolution Report for Carbon Disclosure Project
London, UK. June 18, 2010. Large UK and US firms will achieve almost $19 billion in financial benefits from deploying nearly 10,000 telepresence suites between 2010 and 2020, according to a new Carbon Disclosure Project study sponsored by AT&T and produced by independent analyst firm Verdantix. Over the 10 year period from 2010 to 2020, the deployment of telepresence technology will also deliver cumulative CO2 emissions reductions of nearly 5.5 million metric tonnes equivalent to taking 1 million passenger vehicles off the road.
“Companies that invest in carbon cutting technologies and re-engineer the way they do business will not only be better placed to succeed as we transition to a low-carbon economy but can experience considerable business benefits during this transition,” said Carbon Disclosure Project CEO Paul Dickinson. “This CDP report produced by Verdantix clarifies the economy-wide, transformational potential of telepresence deployment in line with 2020 climate change policy targets.”
“By substituting some business travel for telepresence meetings, large firms will achieve substantial financial benefits and add impetus to corporate sustainability commitments to cut back on CO2 emissions” said Rodolphe d’Arjuzon, the Verdantix director who led the research. “Our forecasting model is based on an individual business implementing four telepresence suites with an upfront investment cost of $600,000 and annual operating costs of $85,000 which includes bandwidth, room usage, electricity costs and system support services. Cost savings from projected reductions in air and road travel plus productivity gains from time saved mean firms achieve a payback within 15 months.”
The analysis is based on detailed case study evidence from interviews with 15 Global 500 companies – such as Accenture, Aviva, Deutsche Bank and PepsiCo – that are early adopters of telepresence suites from providers like AT&T and Cisco. The Verdantix analyst team applied an innovation diffusion algorithm to forecast telepresence adoption by 2,653 US firms and 457 UK firms with annual revenues greater than $1 billion. Key findings contained in the report “Carbon Disclosure Project Study 2010: The Telepresence Revolution” are that telepresence adoption will:
Generate financial benefits of almost $19 billion. US and UK businesses with annual revenues of over $1 billion can achieve cumulative financial benefits of almost $19 billion in the next 10 years. The model forecasts that the financial benefits from travel cost savings and productivity gains in 2020 alone will total over $3.5 billion in the US and $894 million in the UK.
Cut 5.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2020. US and UK businesses with annual revenues of more than $1 billion could achieve cumulative cuts of nearly 5.5 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2020 by deploying almost 10,000 telepresence units across their global office network. Nearly 4.6 million metric tonnes would be cut by US firms and 940,000 from UK firms by 2020.
TABLE: Annual US and UK economy-wide CO2 emissions reductions in 1,000 metric tonnes resulting from telepresence adoption
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | Total | |
| United States | 112 | 155 | 212 | 285 | 373 | 474 | 582 | 689 | 792 | 884 | 4558 |
| United Kingdom | 23 | 32 | 44 | 59 | 77 | 97 | 119 | 142 | 163 | 182 | 938 |
| Total | 135 | 187 | 256 | 344 | 450 | 571 | 701 | 831 | 955 | 1066 | 5496 |
“Telepresence adoption is a classic example of innovation diffusion. Today’s early adopters have shared their insights on the benefits, costs and challenges that will convince more pragmatic corporate buyers to install their first 2, 3 or 4 telepresence rooms. These early majority customers will drive more dramatic growth in adoption” commented Verdantix Director, David Metcalfe. “But success isn’t guaranteed. The potential cost savings and CO2 reductions that individual firms achieve depend on telepresence utilization rates, global travel patterns, bandwidth costs and the value of time savings for users. At the heart of our forecast is the assumption that telepresence is part of a sustainable business transformation in how firms conduct business in a carbon-constrained world.”
About Verdantix
Verdantix is the fastest-growing, independent, analyst research firm focused on climate change, sustainable business and energy efficiency. Visit: www.verdantix.com.
Press Contact
Elinor Newman-Beckett, press@verdantix.com
+44(0)203 371 6792
Friday, 18 June 2010