Reduce Your Contact Centre's Carbon Footprint - Announcing a new Call Design Initiative
Call Design is excited to be announcing a new service that will assist Contact Centres to reduce greenhouse gas emission output.This initiative is focused on the overwhelming environmental issue of saving our planet and reducing energy costs.We believe even the biggest sceptics must now admit that we have a major issue around greenhouse gas emissions. As such, Call Design will provide a service where we will advise Contact Centres on how to implement measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The First Step
The easiest and most obvious way is to use less energy - particularly electricity. Every time we turn on a light a power station in the Hunter Valley turns another lump of coal into damaging carbon dioxide that that is pumped into the atmosphere. We believe it is the responsibility of all Contact Centres to do what they can to diminish their power usage and in doing so reduce greenhouse gas emissions. How this can be done is sometimes blindingly obvious and other times quite subtle.
The Expertise
To assist Call Design in this task, we have commissioned John Goddard, a leading Consultant in sustainability in buildings. He is working with major commercial tenants and building owners assessing performance and assisting in reducing energy use. He also advises owners and tenants on achieving better standards of sustainability and is working with the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change on a sustainable commercial property guide. John will work with us, and with our customers, to define the best set of energy saving measures that can be applied to Contact Centres in Australia.
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) being formulated now in Canberra by Penny Wong's team will have a dramatic impact on Australian businesses. It is likely that energy costs such as electricity will rise by as much as 30% overnight when the CPRS program is implemented in 2009 or 2010. Businesses needs to act now, not only to implement a socially responsible program around the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but simply to put steps in place to minimise the huge impact of the CPRS. Not many businesses can easily absorb an increase of 30% overnight.
Click here to learn more about John Goddard
The Measurements
Call Design recognises the impact of the CPRS and is working to develop a model that can firstly measure greenhouse gas emissions specifically within Contact Centres followed by a tangible methodology to reduce both energy usage and the overall carbon footprint associated with the Contact Centre(s).
Call Design believes Businesses do need to recognise that energy consumption within a Contact Centre needs to be managed very differently from standard business usage. For example a standard business assumes 10-12 sqm per employee ratio while in a Contact Centre the ratio may be as low as 6 sqm per employee - almost double the density and so double the energy required. IT systems usage is normally far higher. Employees come and go at all hours creating other challenges around transportation energy wastage, this offers a good opportunity for cost savings.
As such Call Design is convinced that a consistent set of measures needs to be defined and applied to the Contact Centre industry in the form of an Contact Centre Greenhouse Emissions Index. We look forward to working with the industry towards implementing this program.
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