It?s great to see how Aflac has taken real steps to implement its green initiative strategies. Typically we hear about companies using green technologies, such as virtual meetings, to connect employees from around the world. However, Aflac?s example shows that employees don?t have to be dispersed around the globe in order to contribute to a greener planet and realize substantial cost savings by using green meeting technologies.
Although their campuses are only eight miles apart, they are realizing measurable benefits and significantly decreasing their travel costs. I?ve written about this same topic on my blog (http://blog.protonmedia.com/2010/05/needed-virtual-assault-on-global.html). Also, it?s not uncommon for companies who utilize virtual meetings to realize the notable increases in staff productivity as Aflac has done. You could also factor in the extra productivity they gain from the time saved by eliminating the commute between campuses. I applaud Aflac for its dedication to contributing to a greener earth.
Ron Burns
CEO Proton Media
http://blog.protonmedia.com
Moving to greener operations need not be expensive or time-consuming projects. Often, a lot can be accomplished with a lot of little steps.
Just ask Pat Ryal, VP of technology services of Aflac, who has been leading her company’s green initiatives. I had the opportunity to talk with Ryal as part of my exploration of the leading green data centers within the insurance industry, published in the May issue of Insurance Networking News.
Aflac opened a 161,000-square-foot energy-efficient IT center last year in Columbus, GA. But that’s only part of the story. For example, Aflac achieved some quick wins on simple paper reduction techniques – configuring printers for two-sided printing, and distributing reports to agents electronically. Ryal states that at this point more than 62 percent of the company’s internal reports are delivered electronically. “We scrutinize those on a quarterly basis to ensure that any of those that are printed are truly needed, and if not, we either eliminate them or direct them towards the online capability,” she says. In addition, 99 percent of Aflac’s 25,000 active agents now receive their statements electronically, she adds.
Not only is Aflac supporting greener operations, but the virtual conferences and social networking have also had a notable increase on staff productivity. “We have eight miles between our campuses. With the virtual meeting, we’re able to share documents and teleconference,” Ryal says. “We’ve grown to from 640 virtual meetings a month when we first implemented it, to almost 2,000 a month now. These participants used to get into their cars to travel to different locations for meetings. Just five people traveling back and forth between meetings on the campuses is a collective 100 miles.”
For those who see converting to a green facility as daunting or expensive, Ryal has five words: it’s okay to start small. “Overall, it seems daunting when you first undertake it, and you think you have to do all these great and grand things, and invest a lot of money. We have found that’s not the case,” Ryal says.
