Alltranscript.com Transcription Services is going Greener!

Introduction 

At Alltranscript.com Transcriptions, we are always thinking about improving ourselves in which ever possible. For example, last month, one of the key decisions we took in this direction was notched up our quality check program by introducing the 2-T Model of Proofreading.  Under this model, all the transcripts will be proofread by 2 transcribers from our team instead of the earlier 1. This step will definitely take more efforts on our part but if it improves our services and make our customers satisfied, then we are on for it! The Best part about this step is that customers will be able to enjoy better accuracy levels, estimated to be over 99.75% without incurring any extra costs. Isn’t that great?

The GREEN Initiative – Reducing the Carbon Footprint.

So coming to another important initiative that we have taken- The Green Initiative. This month onwards we will be adopting certain procedures to reduce our carbon footprint. As a company with a team dedicated towards Corporate Social Responsibility, we understand how important it is to give back to the society. We try to this in whichever way possible. This time we thought the best kind of CSR will be to give back to the Environment.  We strongly believe that whatever the development stage of a country or an individual sector or business is, progress cannot happen at the cost of the environment. Afterall, it’s the environment which is offering its resources on which the economic engine sustains itself. For example – Mineral resources, Oil and Food.  So we thought that it would be great idea if we could be a part of this movement of restoring the environment. And what better way to do this than by implementing this inhouse?

How did this idea come about?

Last month, during one of the inhouse meeting between senior management and the transcribers, our transcriber Prerna S. proposed an idea. Prerna said “As a company, we are trying to improve our services, strategic advantages and sustainable growth, but we are yet to take some strong initiatives in sustainable growth for the environment..Why not do something on this front? ..” Everyone appreciated this idea. In response one of the seniors acknowledged this fact and that it would be a great idea for us to do our bit on reducing the carbon footprint. It was agreed unanimously to start working towards this and in the coming few months, come up with a set of policies to be implemented towards this. 

Breakdown of Carbon footprint

Methods we Adopted | To Reducing our Carbon footprint

 

Power Wattage down!: So one of the things that we are doing is we are trying to reduce our power consumption. All our transcribers work on dedicated workstations which are either Laptops or conventional Desktops.  These machines remain in power mode for around 12 hours at a time every day.  So what we did was we optimized our computer and laptops to run more efficiently.  For example we found that 60% percent of our computers did not have the sleep mode enable when not in idle mode. So that was enabled. 

Also, we reduced the excess brightness of the screens to a level which is comfortable for the eyes. Excess brightness means extra power consumption. The next thing was we checked was if any unnecessary plugs were inserted into the power socket. Most people are unaware that, if you plug into the power socket, it will consume some electricity even if the system is OFF! Normally the consumption is extremely low, estimated to be around 3-4 Watts per year but if you look on the whole, the power consumption of many laptop or pc’s at one, the losses could be measurable.

  

Halogens out! CFL’s are in!

Another major component of power consumption is room lighting. Our transcribers work area is lit up by a mixture of CFL’s and Halogen lamps. Halogens are useful if you look at the luminosity, however they consume a lot more power. So we instantly decided to replace all the halogens with greener lighting. We first counted the number of halogens installed in the work area and cabins. Then we thought of some good replacement options. There were two options that we could use: One was we switch over to CFL’s. CFL’s provide the same brightness at 1/3^rd the wattage consumption. Another was make use of LED panels. LED’s benefit from long term reliability, very low power consumption and superior lighting power. However they do cost more.. a lot more.

So as a changeover we took the middle path and replaced all the halogen lamps with a mixture of LED lighting and CFL bulbs.  LED lights were installed in the transcribers work area and CFL’s were installed in managements and department’s cabins. 

Incandescent vs CFL vs LED

Using Less Paper is Good

Most of our work is done electronically, however  certain departments such as Accounts and Sales more quantities of paper for their work. For this we implemented certain changes. We understood basic processes in both the departments as to why and where the paper material was being used. It was found that paper work was not avoidable in all cases but there were a few areas in which the our dependency on it could be reduced if not eliminated completely. For example , for rough account inputs, we added a module to our Accounting software which would eventually require less paper work. Also, all employees were encouraged to use the Photostat and Printer bit more conservatively – Print pages only what is needed. 

Our employees are also switching over to recycled paper notebooks. These are  a great way to save trees from being cut especially when you look at the whole of how many billions of notebooks/writing pads are used globally. These can save a lot of trees from being brought down.

We are Painting the Building WHITE !

Of all the colors, white is the one that reflects off maximum radiation. Because of this, the polar caps and even clouds play a Crucial role in keeping the earth’s temperature down which of their white color. (Exception of Darker clouds).  In building technology, white is considered to excellent in terms of reflecting back the heat waves. This keeps the building cool and which means the

How did we get this great idea? If you look at some really hot places of the world specially deserts, people prefer to wear live in white painted houses and ever wear lighter shades as it keeps the temperatures down. So it was not a difficult choice to switch over to a lighter shade for our building’s outer wall. The color has been finalized and the paint work should begin in the coming month or so.

Green Messages and Tips on Company’s Notice Boards:  

We have started displaying Green posters urging everyone to Go Green! Posters are an excellent medium of giving out tips to everyone working at our place. Also,  we make sure that notice boards stay fresh by rotating and replacing old posters by new ones.  

Why is Going Green necessary?

If you look at scientific journal, researches and evidence on environment and nature, it is clear the trend of progress is in the downward direction. The economic growth has come at a cost – of the Nature.  The nature has been withstanding this, however we have reached a tipping point where many niche experts believe this is the time to reverse our actions or be ready to face the consequences.

Alarming Facts: The National green cover has dropped down.

Alarming Fact: People don’t have access to drinking water. Experts believe the next war will be fought for water.

Alarming Fact:  The air pollutant particles are beyond the permissible limits, often in the ranges of 1000-2000 times more than the limits at industrial and manufacturing parks.

Alarming Fact: Power requirement of nations are shooting upwards. As a result more dams are required to be built. Building dams have one of the most serious consequences in damaging ecologies.

Alarming Fact: Countries dependant on Coal for power cause more damage to the air quality. Coal generated power is more economical and hence this makes it popular as fuel source. China has a huge resource of coal deposits; China is building a Coal-based-power-plant at the rate of one every week!

Footprint Comparison: Solar, Cola, Oil and Gas

Three Notable Organizations going GREEN.

Starbucks: One of the most popular brands in coffee making, the company has adopted a set of green policies. One of them is using environment friendly grade materials for their packaging and storing materials. Another great initiative includes a discount being offered to customers who bring their own mugs as a step to reduce the usage of (foam) cups.

Google Inc. :  The technology giant has numerous data centers located across the globe. A data center typically uses 10MW or more of energy and that’s a lot. In perspective, that’s the amount of energy a small town consumes in a month. Google has been working hard to make its Datacenters energy efficient.  Steps include – using a mixture of sea and sewerage water for cooling. Using wind power for power and recycling 100 percent of the computer servers instead of sending it to trash. Google has also invested more than $915 million for developing renewable energy sources such as hydro, solar and wind. The company is also promoting the concept of local sourcing where it procures materials and food items from local vendors.

Virgin Atlantic: Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic group has been working on greener aviation fuels. Earlier the flying group tried using coconuts oil in their fuel and successfully flew planes on it. However the project was unviable. Virgin is now working on other fuel, the latest one being using Industrial was to produce oil. The company plans to procure industrial waste from Steel mills and other sites. 

Future GREEN Steps at Alltranscript.com Transcriptions.

At Alltranscript.com, our going GREEN initiative hasn’t stopped here. We are actively pursuing and searching for ideas which we can implement at our workplace to lower our carbon footprint. Some ideas that that we might like to explore in the future include Carpooling for employees, Work from home on Weekends and many more! The best part of these steps is that they hardly require any major investment and it can be followed by ANYONE!

What can you do? How can an Individual reduce its carbon footprint?

Did you know every individual has their own Carbon footprint if you look at it in calculation terms? So how can you reduce yours? Here are 5 simple, very easy to follow methods we highly recommend:

WWF Footprint Calculator

Recommend Tip#1: Purchase food items grown in your local area.

Recommend Tip# 2: Prevent water leakages; Replace leaking taps and hoses. Water is more precious that oil.

Recommend Tip# 3: Avoid plastic grade materials.

Recommend Tip# 4: Use recycled paper/Notebooks and Pads.

Recommend Tip# 5: And lastly, Switch OFF electrical items when not in use!

Recommend Tip# 6: If you are walking in your office area and see light not in use, please switch them off.

Recommended Tip# 7 : Carpool or use public transport for commuting to your office. Do this at least once a week. Buses have lesser carbon footprint per passenger compare to a car passenger.

  

Let's Go Green.

-  by Alltranscript.com Transcription Team