During 2007 the customer Sveaskog used the subsidiary STV’s Smart Meeting service 238 times instead of having staff members travel long distances between their offices for meetings. With video meeting rooms at seven of their offices in Sweden, Sveaskog has saved many travel days, thereby reducing the company’s environmental impact. By for example substituting air travel Stockholm-Göteborg–Stockholm for a video meeting, more than 100 kilograms in CO2 emissions per person can be prevented. For many this means less strain and valuable time that can find better use. In February 2008 two additional offices were thus signed up for the service.
– The main reason for us is to be able to offer a reasonable balance between work and leisure time, says Andreas Lidfeldt, Chief IT Officer at Sveaskog, and continues:
– One tool to accomplish this is to have remote meetings rather than to travel. The telephone is the simplest form, but with this service there is also the possibility of sharing images, maps and other work materiel during the meeting. That makes the meeting significantly more productive and reduces the risk of misunderstandings.
Smart Meeting video meeting is simple for the user. Meetings are scheduled through Outlook and at the scheduled time participants gather in the meeting rooms at the various offices. Meetings are started by a simple push of a button. It’s no more difficult than that. The meeting has been prepared by Smart Meeting’s help desk and the technology is connected. All invited participants have received e-mails with information about time and place, as well as telephone numbers and a code. Those who choose not to participate in the meeting rooms can be present by telephone and are then connected to the same sound system.
Video meetings are a further development of conference calls and telephone meetings. It is natural for participants to see each other during a meeting, but another great advantage is gained, namely the ability to show images and documents to all participants simultaneously. All material can be shared just as if everybody was present in the same room. The speaker controls what is displayed and knows that everybody is seeing the same image. Video meetings have therefore become popular at the offices where the service is available and they are today a common every-day occurrence.
Sveaskog has used the Smart Meeting service since autumn 2006 and a survey among the users reveals that everybody is highly satisfied with how it has worked. Sveaskog strives to keep the company’s aggregate impact on the environment low and Smart Meeting is a means to that end.
– The fact that it is easy to see that the service also generates obvious cost savings made the decision simple, says Andreas Lidfeldt and concludes:
– In the future I think we will see an infrastructure where each member of our staff can participate with their own computer via the Internet. We will then be able to have meetings wherever we are.
Smart Meeting
Smart Meeting is a service for video meetings developed by STV. It includes a live help desk that prepares each individual meeting and provides immediate assistance if help is needed during the course of the meeting. The service also includes all technology needed for meeting rooms and required for secure communication by telephone and via the internet. STV is a part of Lagercrantz Communications.
Sveaskog
Sveaskog is Sweden’s largest forest owner and a leading supplier of timber, pulpwood and biofuel. By managing the forest land in a profitability-oriented and environmentally commendable manner, Sveaskog contributes to long-term sustainable development. The group has revenue of SEK 7.3 billion and has 730 employees all over Sweden. Sveaskog is owned by the Swedish Government.