Global telecoms firm BT has revealed that a range of flexible working technology has seen it reduce its contribution to carbon emissions by around 97,000 tonnes.

With staff working from home and other offices around the world, BT has leveraged the benefits of some of the latest videoconferencing technology and avoided the need for close to 860,000 face-to-face meetings, according to a recent study.

Researchers at the University of Bradford and at SustainIT found that the increasing prevalence of conferencing equipment meant thousands of journeys were not being made by BT employees and carbon emission contribution levels were falling significantly as a result.

Aaron McCormack, chief executive at BT Conferencing, commented: "The results of the survey confirm beyond all doubt that conferencing can make a major impact towards reducing the carbon footprint of companies and their employees.

"Companies that embrace conferencing also give their people greater control of their time, increase their productivity and an improvement in work-life balance including a reduction in the amount of time spent traveling."

Meanwhile, BT has been offering its support to Work Wise UK, the nationwide initiative aimed at encouraging businesses to enable their staff to operate from home.