New BT Tool Aims for Smaller Carbon Footprints

Published October 20, 2008

BT launched an online tool last week to help small and medium-sized businesses measure and evaluate their energy consumption.

The BT Business Environmental Self-Assessment Tool (BT BEST) allows users to see how changes to travel, IT use, business operations and corporate policies can shrink or fatten a company's carbon footprint. The tool is geared toward companies with fewer than 250 employees.

The United Kingdom-based company has set a goal of reducing its own carbon intensity by 80 percent below 1996 levels by 2020.

"Sustainability is no longer a luxury for any business, regardless of its size. Improving your processes and tackling your carbon footprint isn't just good for the planet -- it also makes great business sense," Bill Murphy, BT Business managing director, said in a statement.

It focuses on three areas: people, places and policies. The company offers advice on the types of data that must be gathered beforehand, such as the percentage of employees that work from home, commuting patterns, and the number of ICT products owned and operated by the company.

Companies should also collect information on utility bills, waste managment details, environmental policies and energy mix. Once all the information is collected, the assessment takes about 15 minutes.

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New BT Tool Aims for Smaller Carbon Footprints

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