Unseen Green - EMS Software and the Environment

Green has recently become the new black, but call us fashion-forward, because even our roots – dating back to 1986 – are green.

Being environmentally friendly doesn’t always take high-priced remodeling or the construction of new, energy-wise buildings. Efficiency is another way to save resources, which also helps save your bottom line. And we’re in the efficiency business, from putting your facility space to the most productive use to cutting down on heating and cooling bills, recycling data and eliminating paper use.

Make the most of your space

Facility scheduling software gives you the tools you need to significantly increase your facility's scheduling efficiency. When you have the means to quickly and easily reserve the right rooms with the appropriate setup and teardown time between sessions you can optimize meeting and event space, getting the most use out of what you already have and accomplishing your goal of doing more with less.

Before considering an expensive expansion or moving to a larger building for more space, it’s wise to invest in a facility scheduling system. Many organizations discover they have all the room they need in their current location after implementing scheduling software.

Shared workspace

Hoteling, hot-desking... there are many names for the practice of having workers who are frequently offsite (telecommuting or with clients) "book" a workspace when they arrive at the office. But whatever you call it, minimizing the physical space that you must heat, cool and maintain is good for the environment and good for your company’s bottom line.

Eliminate energy waste

Facility maintenance is often cited as the second highest cost to your organization, right behind staffing. Your energy rate is fixed, but the size of your bill isn’t. Heating and cooling unoccupied rooms can be a major source of energy waste and a significant drain on your budget.

Well-designed scheduling systems integrate with your buildings’ heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to provide room occupancy information that can be used to automatically adjust room temperatures. Energy-efficient temperatures are set for empty rooms and then gradually increased/decreased to a comfortable level in time for a scheduled event. This feature of EMS software can significantly cut down on your energy bills and save valuable staff time that would otherwise be spent adjusting thermostats. Since adopting this interface, the University of Kansas’ student union has saved more than $20,000 and 700 hours of labor a year – all while making their campus greener.

Effective staffing also equals sustainability

When activity volume increases from year to year, one option for handling the additional events is to increase the headcount in your scheduling office and on your setup crew. However, more employees mean more office space, additional commuters on the highways and a larger carbon footprint. A better, eco-friendly option is to help your existing staff work more effectively with software designed to do just that.

Reduce, reuse and recycle

While few scheduling operations can claim to be 100-percent paperless, there are a number of ways that a facility scheduling system can help you achieve near-zero paper consumption. The ability to email reports directly from the system, the availability of online space request forms and integrated event task reminders are just a few.

As with space optimization, the accurate scheduling and tracking of resources (A/V equipment, catering supplies, etc.) allows many organizations to do more with less. Instead of purchasing additional data projectors for example, an organization might find that its existing inventory can readily meet the demand when scheduled more carefully. This practice gets to the heart of the Three R’s, while saving you supplies.

Videoconference Coordination

Meetings are a necessary part of doing business, but the burning of large quantities of time and jet fuel in order to meet in person doesn’t have to be. EMS products have functionality that simplifies the scheduling of rooms and other resources needed for multi-point videoconferences, even across time zones. Cutting back on travel and coordinating more videoconferences is a great way to reduce your organization’s carbon footprint.

Data "Recycling"

The "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" concept can be applied to data, too. Through its seamless interface with a number of other systems (digital signage, interactive calendaring, room diagramming, HR databases, accounting packages, and many more), EMS eliminates the person-hours spent rekeying event-related data, as well as the associated overhead.

In short, organizations can save time, energy and money through the often unseen green of facility scheduling software.

The Company Behind the Products

From things like minimizing the use of disposable products and recycling all eligible materials, to finding eco-friendly alternatives to single-vehicle commuting, we strive in our office to practice positive environmental stewardship. We also participate in organizations dedicated to sustainability (Green Meetings Industry Council, for example) in order to deepen our understanding of the issues faced by businesses that are striving to be earth-friendly.