Save the environment – and see your business reap the financial rewards

Press release: for immediate release May 12th 2008

As World Environment Day approaches on June 5th, a Vale of Glamorgan businessman is challenging other entrepreneurs in the area to think about the impact their companies are having on the environment, and the steps they can take to remedy it.

Tom Stroud, Managing Director of Cowbridge-based Miura Conference, is asking the local business community to consider how the way they operate their business may be harming the environment.

“My job involved continually visiting businesses and customers and it always amazes me how much time and energy we all waste just doing business,” says Tom. “Even if we all move to driving economical cars or travelling by train, business travel still generates a significant proportion of the CO2 emissions generated every year in the UK”.

“It’s a terrible waste of energy and the world’s resources,” says Tom, a 41-year-old father of one. All those meeting rooms and the cost of hiring them…

“Of course, there are some businesses which are really clued up on eco issues, but there are many who probably don’t give it a second thought. Businesses need to be re-educated into looking at different ways of working in order to reduce the negative affects they are having on the world around them.”

Tom explains that it was such environmental concerns which prompted him to start, Miura Conference in 2004.

“Naturally, it was partly down to demand. I was running an IT company specialising in web based applications at the time, and clients were telling me they were interested in web and video conferencing, but it was also because I was really concerned about the amount of unnecessary travelling that was involved in running the company.

“I started investigating other ways that myself and my clients could hold meetings that didn’t involve driving across the country, or flying somewhere and back in a day. Telephone and web conferencing are now far easier to use, more reliable and economical, offering the perfect meeting solution for many businesses. As well as being able to talk to colleagues and clients anywhere in the world, we also offer technology enabling you to share PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets in fact anything on your computer, so everyone can work on the same documents, at the same time.”

As well as the environmental benefits, Tom says such solutions can also save businesses thousands of pounds a year.

“Small and medium sized enterprises alone waste an estimated £47m a year simply because they are not efficient enough in all areas of business. An hour-long phone conference between four people in four different offices, four different countries even, can cost less that £10. Web conferencing with unlimited meetings costs from under £40 per month. Compare that with the cost of transporting those people to the same location, hiring a venue and laying on refreshments.

“Added to that, travel time is dead time,” he says. “Employees may quite like sitting on the motorway in their car listening to Radio 2 and getting paid, as well as making money on their mileage rates, but in today’s competitive world we all need to be more productive, and therefore earn the company more money. So you are not just decreasing costs, but increasing revenue.”

One of Miura Conference’s clients for example has a team of 15 sales people covering the UK, they hold a weekly telephone conferencing to discuss opportunities, new initiatives and provide feedback to their sales manager. Using a telephone conference saves each sales person travelling hundreds of miles and frees up time for them to spend meeting customers and prospects.

“We don’t propose virtual meetings will replace face-to-face ones altogether,” concludes Tom. “There will still be a need for conventional meetings, for example, if you have a contract to sign, or are meeting a client for the first time. But we’ve all had those meetings that end up being a waste of time. Here, you could sound out that person initially online and then see if a face-to-face meeting would be worthwhile or not.

“I want to change people’s perceptions of the way that they work, saving them money, increasing their revenue, and saving the environment at the same time.”

For more information on Miura Conference, visit www.miuraconference.co.uk, email tom.stroud@miuraconference.co.uk, or telephone 0800 970 2750.

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For press enquiries and interview opportunities, please contact Cathryn Scott on cathryn.scott@miuraconference.co.uk or telephone 07967 818 353.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Miura Conference is a Cowbridge-based business with staff based in Bristol, Ireland, the Netherlands and France.

Miura is a well-respected provider of audio, web and video conferencing solutions and specialises in supplying the very latest, next-generation integrated communication, conferencing and virtual meeting solutions. ? Tele-conferencing services starts at 4p a minute and web-conferencing from £35 a month. Unlike other conference providers, you will not need to download any special programmes, which can be costly and affect your computer’s Firewalls and virus protectors.