WHAT’S OUR FOOTPRINT?
Although classroom training declined from 76 percent in 2001 to 65 percent in 2006 according to ASTD’s 2007 State of the Industry Report, it still makes up the majority of learning hours delivered and has the biggest impact on the environment in the areas of travel, facilities and materials.
Travel is typically the biggest greenhouse gas (GHG) contributor. Using www.atmosfair.com , you can, for example, quickly find out that a 5,000-mile roundtrip flight from San Diego to New York generates 2.2 tons of CO2.
Facilities include training rooms as well as the accommodation of learners. To determine your classroom footprint, use the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Building Technology Program online simulator at http://designadvisor.mit.edu/design/ that calculates total energy consumption and CO2 emissions. A classroom that holds about 20 learners and is occupied during the week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. would generate one ton of CO2 per year in San Diego and 1.7 tons in New York, mainly due to cooling and heating. According to Greenlodge.org, the average hotel stay generates 44 pounds per person per night.
Materials typically consist of printed manuals or handouts. A course with 20 participants where each receives a binder with 100 sheets results in the use of 2,000 sheets or four reams of paper, which equals a quarter of an average tree. This single course would generate 60 pounds of CO2. Check your paper usage impact at http://www.edf.org/papercalculator.
If that course (cited in the accompanying table) can be moved online, it not only saves about 1200 tons of CO2, but also more than $1 million in travel cost alone. This is well worth an increase of the learning budget. Calculate your learning footprint on http://learningfootprint.com to see your impact.
THE STRATEGIES
E-learning is inherently green. By moving a course online, you instantly cut the biggest contributor to your footprint: travel.
If e-learning is still new in your organization, start with small steps by integrating rapid e-learning authoring as part of an informal learning strategy. You can use programming-free tools like Adobe Captivate software to create any content from simple software demos to sophisticated branched scenarios or Adobe Presenter software to quickly get informational presentations into an online format.
A more gradual approach is blended learning, which entails moving the majority of content online and using shortened instructor-led sessions. Or consider moving the classroom instruction online using virtual classrooms like Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro or virtual worlds. The French banking group Crédit Agricole, the eighth-largest bank in the world, is saving $200,000 to $300,000 in travel expenses this year alone in a pilot program where training sessions are held in Second Life.
“Tailored blended-learning saved one organization $2.8 million in travel and accommodation costs by cutting travel time for a 14-week program from 28 to 7 days,” according to ASTD’s 2007 State of the Industry Report.
If you do have to conduct classroom based, instructor-led training, these tips might help reduce your footprint:
>> Offer public transit passes or support carpooling and hybrid car rental
(reserve via Planet Tran, which is focused on environmentally friendly hybrid vehicles).
>> Offer carbon offsetting for each traveler.
>> Facilitate courses in centrally located areas and shorten travel distances.
>> Choose energy-efficient and long-lasting hardware like the new CherryPal—
a desktop that runs on only two watts, lasts 10 years and costs only $249.
>> Find green accommodations via sites like www.greenlodge.org.
>> Start late Monday morning to reduce the number of hotel nights, and
require double-occupancy.
>> Choose green training facilities or upgrade your own.
>> Choose zero-footprint catering that uses local produce and reusable dishware.
>> Avoid printing and shipping. If you need to print, print locally on 80 to 100
percent recycled paper.
>> Offer recycling, and educate participants what can/cannot be recycled.
This differs based on your city’s waste management.
>> Purchase recycled and environmentally preferable products. Stopwaste.org is a
good starting point.
>> Avoid plastics such as extra pens, training binders, name badges, etc.
The actual training is one aspect of your footprint. Your own workflows and departmental habits are another.
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