LONDON, June 9 /PRNewswire/ --

The Sustainable Development Commission(1) (SDC), Institute for Public Policy Research(2) (IPPR) and World Wide Fund For Nature(3) (WWF) have published new reports calling for telepresence(4) to be integrated into the UK's transport infrastructure.

The SDC and IPPR report 'Breaking the holding pattern -- A new approach to aviation policy making in the UK' calls for the UK Government to 'reduce business travel by encouraging greener travel in public sector(5) and business(6) by speeding the uptake of technology alternatives such as telepresence.'

According to the report, a leading financial company eliminated the need for approximately 200 transatlantic flights and 60 European flights using Teliris(7) Telepresence. The firm estimated its savings at US$3,407,200, which included the cost of avoided flights and accommodation, and saved over 450 tonnes of C02 emissions.

The new WWF Report 'Travelling Light' features an independent survey of business travel practices amongst FTSE 350 companies. The research revealed that 62 percent of surveyed companies are already reducing their business travel footprint, a further 24 percent are developing plans to do so, and 66 percent support proposals for the UK Government to introduce an Enhanced Capital Allowance(8) scheme for organisations investing in telepresence technology.

The WWF report also highlights that telepresence, for the first time, allows a true alternative to travel for many types of meetings.

Martyn Lewis(9), EU Chairman of Teliris, comments, "The Sustainable Development Commission, Institute for Public Policy Research and World Wide Fund For Nature represent a growing number(10) of Key Opinion Formers in the UK, which are actively encouraging the UK Government and British businesses to adopt telepresence technology. Telepresence is the only reliable and natural virtual meeting experience and facilitates increased productivity, a better employee work-life balance, a foolproof business continuity plan, allows for carbon emissions reduction and offers cost savings for companies all over the world."

"Teliris is proactively supporting these Key Opinion Formers to bring telepresence into the mainstream by breaking previous pricing barriers and opening up telepresence accessibility to enterprises and smaller businesses(11)."

CONTACT: Please contact David Jullienne, Bryony Mansell or Joel Derbyshire at Fuel PR, Tel: +44-020-7498-8211 or email bryony@fuelrefuel.com

Notes to editors: (1) The Sustainable Development Commission is the Government's independent advisory body on sustainability issues. Made up of 18 Commissioners and chaired by Jonathon Porritt, it reports directly to the Prime Minister, the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales and the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland. (2) The Institute for Public Policy Research is the UK's leading progressive think tank, producing cutting-edge research and innovative policy ideas for a just, democratic and sustainable world. Since 1988, it has been at the forefront of progressive debate and policymaking in the UK. (3) WWF is the world's largest and most experienced independent conservation organisation and works in more than 90 countries. (4) First there was teleconferencing, then video conferencing and now there is telepresence. Telepresence means that intimate, intuitive and effective interactions are occurring over great distances, without the need for physical travel. This is achieved by using state of the art audio and video technology, which allows conversations to take place in real time. The meeting experience is transparent, intimate and effective -- enabling colleagues to read verbal and non-verbal cues, sense the true tone of the meeting and feel each other's presence across the table. (5) Figures recently released by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs revealed that officials had spent more than 2.5m pounds Sterling on air travel between April 2006 and December 2007, including more than 500,000 pounds Sterling on domestic flights. Another recent report by the SDC found that Government departments were not on track to meet the carbon reduction target of 12.5 per cent by 2010 because, while their carbon emissions had decreased by 0.5 per cent since 1999, 15 departments had increased their carbon emissions in the last year. The Department of Transport was the worst offender in terms of travel, with CO2 emissions from road transport increased by 40 per cent since 2002. (6) Business travel currently accounts for approximately 20% of the UK's carbon emissions. The current Climate Change Bill, which is going through Parliament in the UK has been amended to incorporate carbon emissions in the business review. This means all FTSE companies will now have to include information on the amount of emissions produced, including its fleet, on-site energy use, business travel and on-site equipment. If 20% of business travel in EU-25 countries is replaced by non-travel solution, approximately 22.35 million tonnes of CO2 could be reduced. (7) Teliris is the global market leader in telepresence, with deployments in over 19 countries and the largest installed base of FTSE 500 and Fortune 500 companies. Headquartered in New York and London, the company's advanced telepresence technology allows intimate, intuitive and effective interactions to occur over great distances, without the need for physical travel. By using Teliris telepresence, organisations, including Fidelity, Sony Ericsson, Tate & Lyle, Merc, Pearson, Royal Bank of Scotland and Qualcomm, have saved millions of pounds in air travel and hotel bills, reduced their carbon footprint and driven business results through improved internal communication and collaboration. For further information regarding Teliris, visit the company's web site at http://www.teliris.com or email info@teliris.com. (8) 'Proposals have been put forward to Government by WWF for an Enhanced Capital Allowance' (ECA) for companies which purchase telepresence solutions. (ECAs currently enable a business to claim 100% first-year capital allowances on their spending on qualifying plant and machinery.) (9) Martyn Lewis is a co-founder and the chairman of Teliris, and has played a strategic role in the development of the company, its products and services. Martyn is one of Britain's best-known broadcasters. In a television career spanning 34 years, he has presented every mainstream national TV news programme on ITV and the BBC, and reported from around Britain and the world. (10) Last month, Teliris VirtuaLive Telepresence was announced as a winner of the 'Low Carbon and Environmental Efficiency' category at the UK Centre for Economic and Environmental Development's prestigious National eWell-Being Awards. In April of this year, Ovum, a leading European telecoms, software and IT services analyst, published a report which described Teliris as 'the leading telepresence vendor', with 'the most 'immersive and flexible telepresence technology.' Teliris telepresence technology has also been highlighted as 'best practice' for sustainable IT in a recent report by the environmental charity Global Action Plan. The new report, entitled 'An Inefficient Truth,' reviews the impact of business use of IT on the environment and promotes best practices. (11) Last week Teliris announced a new range of telepresence solutions, including Teliris Personal Telepresence, the first cost-effective solution for private offices and individual users, Teliris Express Telepresence, and Teliris Custom Telepresence. Prices for Teliris's new telepresence products start from as little as 16,000 pounds Sterling.

Web site: http://www.teliris.com

David Jullienne, Bryony Mansell or Joel Derbyshire at Fuel PR, +44-020-7498-8211, or bryony@fuelrefuel.com, for Teliris