Britain’s Road Warriors Responsible For Almost 9 Million Tonnes of CO2 Emissions

London, U.K., 13th November 2006— British workers who travel to meetings by car are responsible for putting almost 9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year*, according to research from on-demand web collaboration experts WebEx, published today.**

Almost half (46%) of British workers regularly travel to business meetings, with only 7% replacing unnecessary face-to-face meetings with virtual ones.

How damaging is your trip to work? The research also reveals that :***

• Almost two thirds (59%) of Britons drive to work. Over their working life, each will, on average, release 42 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the environment, the equivalent weight of seven elephants
• Train travellers account for 7% of the British workforce and are responsible for over 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide, on average, during their careers. This equates to the weight of over four elephants
• Around 3% of Britons take the tube to work. Over the course of their working life, these workers will be responsible for around 20 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent weight of three elephants
• Almost one in ten (8%) Britons travel to work by bus and are responsible for only seven tonnes of carbon dioxide over their working life, the equivalent weight of one elephant
• Over one in ten (11%) enjoy a walk to work each day and 3% cycle

Climate change expert Jonathan Shopley, CEO of The CarbonNeutral Company warned, “Transport makes up one quarter of all emissions in the UK, so it’s more important than ever that we look at ways to reduce unnecessary travel. If an employee replaces just one trip from London to Manchester with a web meeting, he would save around 56 kilograms of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere and do his part to reduce global warming.”

Bert van der Zwan, VP, EMEA, WebEx, added, “It is up to businesses to take the lead on environmental issues by adopting smarter working practices and alternatives to commuting and business travel. With new technologies making it easier than ever to meet online and work from home, there is a compelling argument to lobby employers to move away from traditional ways of doing business.”

To encourage businesses to consider alternative working methods, WebEx is offering a free trial of its on-demand collaboration applications, which allow businesses to use the web as a platform to interact with customers, partners and co-workers. These on-demand applications enable business processes such as sales and training, which were traditionally conducted face-to-face, to be conducted over the web. For a 14 day free trial go to www.webex.com/go/uk-freetrial

There are a number of ways that businesses can reduce their carbon footprint from investing in renewable energy, to reducing unnecessary travel and offsetting unavoidable emissions. WebEx partner The CarbonNeutral Company has developed series of carbon calculators, which enable individuals and businesses to measure their carbon emissions and offers advice on reducing these emissions. For more information see: www.carbonneutral.com

* The average worker travels 67 miles per week for business with 44% trips being made by car. Assuming that their car engine is between 1.4 and 2 litres, the average business traveller emits 0.9 tonnes per year. According to the Office of National Statistics, there are 21.60 million people in full time employment. As 46% of workers travel to meetings on a regular basis, there are approximately 9.9 million business travellers who will emit 8.9 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

** About the Research

YouGov on behalf of WebEx carried out the survey during July 2006, with respondents drawn from a cross section of demographic groups and ages. 2,182 people were interviewed through on online omnibus survey.

***

The table below shows conversion factors for transport mode and gives an estimate of CO2 emissions for each mile or kilometre travelled. The figures show the mass of pollutants in grammes emitted per passenger mile of travel. (Source: The Tyndal Centre for Climate Research www.tyndall.ac.uk/research/info_for_researchers/emissions.shtml

Notes Units = g/mile, multiply by 0.625 to get g/km
1g C emitted = 12/44g CO2

About WebEx
WebEx Communications, Inc. is the global leader of on-demand applications for collaborative business on the web. WebEx applications are used across the enterprise in sales, support, training, marketing, engineering and product design. WebEx delivers its range of applications over the WebEx MediaTone Network, a global network specifically designed for secure delivery of on-demand applications. WebEx Communications is based in Santa Clara, California. The UK headquarters are in London. It also has regional headquarters in Europe, Asia and Australia. Please call +44 (0) 800 3899772 or visit www.webex.co.uk for more information.

About The CarbonNeutral Company

The CarbonNeutral Company is the world’s leading full service carbon management business. We enable businesses and individuals to tackle their climate change impacts in a way which delivers value – commercial, environmental, personal.

The company works with over 200 B2B, B2C, NGO and government clients including BSkyB, Honda, Avis Europe, IUCN – The World Conservation Union, American Express, Berkeley Homes, Ricoh and the Radio Taxis Group as well as celebrities and 50,000+ consumer clients.

CarbonNeutral®, the registered trademark of The CarbonNeutral Company, is the world’s leading brand mark for action on climate change. It means global warming emissions have been measured, reductions recommended, and the remaining emissions ‘offset’ through renewable energy and/or sustainable forestry projects.

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NOTE: MediaTone is a trademark of WebEx Communications, Inc

The above referenced survey was produced by YouGov, an independent third party that is not affiliated with WebEx Communications, Inc. Although WebEx sponsored this survey, the opinions, analysis, estimates or forecasts contained in the report are the opinions of the analyst alone and do not represent opinions, estimates, forecasts or predictions of WebEx Communications, Inc. or its management. WebEx Communications, Inc. does not by this press release imply its endorsement of or concurrence with such opinions, analysis, estimates or forecasts.

Contacts Presse:
	WebEx Communications Matthias Frank, WebEx PR Manager EMEA +31 20 410 8700	Brands2Life Adele McIntosh +44 (0)20 7592 1200