Sep 25 2009
Hydro executive Birgitte Holter saved tonnes of climate emissions with a "low-CO2 presentation" to a sustainable building conference in Norway this week.
VIRTUAL SPEECH: Hydro executive Birgitte Holter avoided generating tonnes of carbon emissions by giving a "virtual speech" to a sustainable buildings conference in Norway. (Photo: Kevin Widlic)
Birgitte Holter, head of sales and marketing in Hydro's European extruded products operations, is chair of the United Nations Environment Program's Sustainable Buildings and Climate change Initiative.
On Thursday, September 24, she addressed the Nordic Building Exhibition ("Bygg Reis Deg") near Oslo. Her topic: "The Global Challenge - CO2 Emission: The global emission & energy challenge and the construction industries' role."
"Invisible" audience
"Dear ladies and gentlemen," she said, addressing the gathering, "or should I rather say, dear invisible ladies and invisible gentlemen."
"Invisible," because she wasn't at the conference itself. She prepared her materials and a voice-over speech to save on the carbon emissions that she would have generated traveling from her office in Lausanne, Switzerland, to the conference in Lillestrøm, east of Oslo.
"This presentation is proof that it is possible to make a low-CO2 presentation," she said.