In an attempt to capitalize both on the popularity of "green" initiatives and the coming trend toward unified communications, web conferencing specialist iLinc has released a Web-based software program that calculates an estimate of how much CO2 emissions are saved for every individual.
Called the Green Meter, the tool works by detecting the locations of the people that are attending the Web meeting from their IP addresses and then measures the distance between the meeting participants and the meeting leader, thus calculating the amount of travel that is eliminated through the use of a virtual meeting space.
The tool then applies an algorithm that recognizes what means of employee travel would commonly be used for the given distance (car, small aircraft, large aircraft, etc.) and generates a CO2 emissions-savings amount for both the Web meeting leader and a composite number for the entire attendee list.
