Thame, Oxon, UK: 21 January 2013: Following recent media coverage the Met Office has issued an update to its decadal forecast making it clear that although global temperatures over the next five years are likely to be a little lower than previously predicted (December 2011), it is still predicting that we will continue to see near record levels of global temperatures in the next few years.

According to Prof Julia Slingo the Met Office Chief Scientist, talking on Radio 4's Feedback, the latest forecast for the next 5 years does not affect the Met Office's long term projections of climate change and the seriousness of the situation. The earth will continue to be at record warm levels similar to those we have seen over the last decade, with a fair chance that new records will be made during that period.

"The tough business environment has meant that businesses of all sizes, across all sectors, are concentrating on ensuring that they survive the recession," said Steve Gandy, CEO of MeetingZone, an independent conferencing and collaboration service provider. "It is perhaps understandable that for many the focus on deploying Green IT solutions and the drive to operate in an environmentally friendly manner has fallen off the Board's agenda."

But this lack of focus could have dramatic repercussions. A recent study led by Nigel Arnell, Director of the University of Reading's Walker Institute, shows that the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions  to limit the global temperature rise to within 2 degrees Celsius by 2100 would 'avoid the worst effects of climate change'.

United Nations climate negotiations, which took place in Qatar in Dec 2012, ended with no real progress regarding plans to cut greenhouse emissions or financial help for developing countries who need to adapt to climate change.

"Clearly it is really important that the talks in Qatar have indeed paved the way for a binding agreement to be reached between all parties by 2015," added Gandy. "But in the meantime it really is not hard for each and every one of us to do our bit to reduce the everyday impact we have on the environment. We should all think just how we can work together to reduce our carbon footprint."

A simple and easy way to start is for businesses to deploy conferencing and collaboration tools which allow their workforce to work remotely, just as if they were in the office. By reducing the need for employees to travel into work every day, traffic on the roads is reduced and the associated carbon emissions are cut.

By eliminating the need to travel to and from each and every business meeting an organisation can also reduce its carbon footprint. There really is no longer the need to hold every meeting face to face as the great majority of business meetings can be held using audio and web conferencing solutions.

"Apart from helping business to operate with the environment very much in mind, conferencing and collaboration also helps to improve productivity and efficiency which ultimately drives up the bottom line. The deployment of Green IT solutions such as conferencing and collaboration should be very near the top of every Board's agenda – it really is a no-brainer!" concluded Gandy.