The Carbon Cost of Travel
For many companies, air travel is the single greatest variable in their total carbon footprint. While all reductions in carbon dioxide emission are desirable, a single jet trip can completely outstrip the carbon dioxide savings made in other areas. Video communications can reduce or eliminate the need to make routine plane trips all together.
The electricity used for video calls is negligible in comparison to the energy used to travel. Each video call that saves a trip is a direct reduction of carbon dioxide output.
We know that telepresence is good for business as well as the environment. At LifeSize, our use of video communications instead of travel has helped us build a world-class, high-growth company with global development, manufacturing and sales operations with greater speed, better business results and less pollution. We do more, but we travel less. You can too.
Jet exhaust is mostly carbon dioxide (CO2), and jets deliver this greenhouse gas directly into the most sensitive portion of our atmosphere, the delicate upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, five to seven miles up from Earth’s surface. See how much you can reduce your own carbon footprint:
| From | To | Metric Tons of CO2 per round trip |
| New York | Los Angeles | 2.46 |
| Los Angeles | Tokyo | 5.90 |
| Chicago | New York | 0.98 |
| London | New York | 3.69 |
| Los Angeles | Sydney | 6.64 |
| Sydney | Tokyo | 4.91 |
| Tokyo | Beijing | 1.97 |
| Beijing | Hong Kong | 1.72 |
| Hong Kong | Singapore | 1.84 |
| Singapore | Dubai | 3.69 |
| Frankfurt | London | 0.85 |
| Paris | Rome | 1.11 |
| Oslo | Frankfurt | 1.04 |
| Miami | Rio de Janeiro | 4.18 |
By comparison, the average U.S. household has a carbon footprint of about 17 metric tons PER YEAR. Frequent business air travel can greatly increase your carbon footprint and negate any other conservation efforts. Reducing routine air travel delivers immediate and measurable carbon dioxide emissions reductions.
Interested in computing your carbon footprint? Visit CarbonCounter.org and try their powerful but simple calculator to see how much CO2 is produced when you travel by car or plane - and how much you can save by using LifeSize video communications.