BrandQuantum - NEWS #BQ Cares

SME TECH GURU | Sustainable technology: small changes for conscious living

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 02:16:01 -0500

Article first published on smetechguru.co.za on 22 April 2022, written by Paula Sartini

We rely on technology daily to improve our lives and workplace efficiencies yet these same technologies have an impact on our environment. Many of the devices we use today from laptops to mobile phones rely on resources and energy that contribute to increasing our carbon footprint and waste.

It is estimated that the carbon footprint of our devices, the internet and the systems supporting them account for approximately 3.7% of global greenhouse emissions, similar to the amount produced by the airline industry. Further, these emissions are predicted to double by 2025 unless we do something about it. We can all make small changes to limit the impact of the technologies we use on the environment and work towards more conscious living.

The amount of time spent on electronic devices from laptops to mobile phones all adds up. For example, a study conducted by OVO Energy[2] explains that an email sent with an attachment is estimated to use the equivalent of 50g of carbon dioxide. If you consider that approximately 4.9 billion[3] people have access to the internet and thereby email, the carbon usage of all emails sent by these individuals adds up. According to OVO Energy, if each email user in the UK sent one less unnecessary email daily, it would reduce carbon emissions by 16 433 tonnes which is equivalent to 81 152 flights from London Heathrow to Madrid.

To help reduce our carbon footprint, here are a few tips that we can use to make a difference to our planet together:

Sending smaller emails can reduce your carbon footprint

While sending emails may not be on the top of the list as a key contributor to CO2 emissions, according to Mike Berners-Lee, a professor at the Environment Centre at Lancaster University, computers use energy when you type up the email, when you hit send they move to a network and then when you store the email to a data centre that uses a lot of energy[4]. Based on this process the average carbon footprint of an email can be anywhere from 0.03g CO2e to 26g CO2e depending on the time taken to draft the email and the content included in the email from the body copy to the images.

Using predeveloping content to draft the email could save time in writing the email copy. By ensuring that the correct email content and attachments are sent in the first email, it prevents the need to send several emails about the same issue to the same person, making a difference in reducing the number of emails sent daily from 333.2 billion around the world and minimising the impact on the environment.

Send only the attachments you need to send

Emails containing attachments can release up to 50g of CO2e. By limiting the number of attachments that are sent via email, individuals and companies alike can make a difference in their carbon footprint.

This is supported by a study conducted by The Shift Project[5] that found that exchanging office documents on a shared platform, rather than emailing them across the organisation led to a 40% annual reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions. In addition to modifying how the files are shared, the number of versions of documents archived was also reduced, thereby reducing the need for increased storage on the servers thereby reducing the impact on the environment.

By giving employees easy access to the latest versions of predeveloped content, brand resources and documents that are managed centrally, employees will no longer find it necessary to save various versions of documents or email multiple versions of documents to colleagues that are struggling to find the right version, thereby minimising the impact on the environment.

Reduce the size of images used in your emails

Email signatures and banners often aim to be eye-catching and reinforce the brand, using logos and images to achieve this. However, in addition to adding to the large size of emails before the body content has even been added, these emails can be blocked by recipient servers, resulting in additional emails needing to be sent. This has a knock-on effect on increasing the carbon footprint of an email.

Companies can reduce the size of emails by lowering the resolution of images used in banners and even compressing the size of the images used in email signatures without compromising the quality of the branding. In doing this, it will reduce the size of the emails and help move a step closer to reducing CO2 emissions.

Today we all need to make changes to the ways we use technology if we are to lower the impact on the environment and help our planet. By making small changes to the emails we send and store, we are already on a path to helping to reduce the carbon footprint of the technology we use daily to improve efficiencies and our lives. Let’s make a change together. To help employees achieve this, software solutions, such as BrandMail, should be used to help eliminate the need to store documents and content unnecessarily, send documents to colleagues that can be accessed centrally, and spend time developing content that is frequently used. At the same time every email should carry beautifully branded and functional email signatures and eye catching banners that don’t add to the size of the email. In doing this, employees will be able to reduce their carbon footprint one email at a time.

BrandQuantum develops software solutions to help companies deliver compliant customer communications and documents. The tamperproof email signatures that are sent out with every single email via Microsoft Outlook have built-in verification tools to give customers added peace of mind that your company emails are authentic. The BrandOffice solution offers permission control to company documents so that only those employees that need access to your documents have it. In addition, access to company documentation and templates is tracked and audited to give companies line of site of document usage and overall documentation compliance.

TECHSMART | Sustainable technology: small changes for conscious living

Sun, 14 Aug 2022 06:38:22 -0500

Article first published on techsmart.co.za on 21 April 2022, written by Paula Sartini

The amount of time spent on electronic devices from laptops to mobile phones all adds up. For example, a study conducted by OVO Energy explains that an email sent with an attachment is estimated to use the equivalent of 50g of carbon dioxide. If you consider that approximately 4.9 billion people have access to the internet and thereby email, the carbon usage of all emails sent by these individuals adds up. According to OVO Energy, if each email user in the UK sent one less unnecessary email daily, it would reduce carbon emissions by 16 433 tonnes which is equivalent to 81 152 flights from London Heathrow to Madrid.

Sending smaller emails can reduce your carbon footprint

While sending emails may not be on the top of the list as a key contributor to CO2 emissions, according to Mike Berners-Lee, a professor at the Environment Centre at Lancaster University, computers use energy when you type up the email, when you hit send they move to a network and then when you store the email to a data centre that uses a lot of energy. Based on this process the average carbon footprint of an email can be anywhere from 0.03g CO2e to 26g CO2e depending on the time taken to draft the email and the content included in the email from the body copy to the images.

Send only the attachments you need to send

This is supported by a study conducted by The Shift Project that found that exchanging office documents on a shared platform, rather than emailing them across the organisation led to a 40% annual reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions. In addition to modifying how the files are shared, the number of versions of documents archived was also reduced, thereby reducing the need for increased storage on the servers thereby reducing the impact on the environment.

Reduce the size of images used in your emails

Today we all need to make changes to the ways we use technology if we are to lower the impact on the environment and help our planet. By making small changes to the emails we send and store, we are already on a path to helping to reduce the carbon footprint of the technology we use daily to improve efficiencies and our lives. Let's make a change together. To help employees achieve this, software solutions, such as BrandMail, should be used to help eliminate the need to store documents and content unnecessarily, send documents to colleagues that can be accessed centrally, and spend time developing content that is frequently used. At the same time every email should carry beautifully branded and functional email signatures and eye catching banners that don’t add to the size of the email. In doing this, employees will be able to reduce their carbon footprint one email at a time.

Sustainable technology: Small changes for conscious living

Sun, 15 May 2022 07:45:09 -0500

We rely on technology daily to improve our lives and workplace efficiencies, yet these same technologies have an impact on our environment. Many of the devices we use today from laptops to mobile phones rely on resources and energy that contribute to increasing our carbon footprint and waste.

It is estimated that the carbon footprint of our devices, the internet and the systems supporting them account for approximately 3.7% of global greenhouse emissions, similar to the amount produced by the airline industry . Further, these emissions are predicted to double by 2025 unless we do something about it. We can all make small changes to limit the impact of the technologies we use on the environment and work towards more conscious living.

To help reduce our carbon footprint, here are a few tips that we can use to make a difference to our planet together:

Sending smaller emails can reduce your carbon footprint

While sending emails may not be on the top of the list as a key contributor to CO2 emissions, according to Mike Berners-Lee, a professor at the Environment Centre at Lancaster University, computers use energy when you type up the email, when you hit send they move to a network and then when you store the email to a data centre that uses a lot of energy. Based on this process the average carbon footprint of an email can be anywhere from 0.03g CO2e to 26g CO2e depending on the time taken to draft the email and the content included in the email from the body copy to the images.

Send only the attachments you need to send

Reduce the size of images used in your emails

Today we all need to make changes to the ways we use technology if we are to lower the impact on the environment and help our planet. By making small changes to the emails we send and store, we are already on a path to helping to reduce the carbon footprint of the technology we use daily to improve efficiencies and our lives. Let's make a change together. To help employees achieve this, software solutions, such as BrandMail, should be used to help eliminate the need to store documents and content unnecessarily, send documents to colleagues that can be accessed centrally, and spend time developing content that is frequently used. At the same time every email should carry beautifully branded and functional email signatures and eye catching banners that don’t add to the size of the email. In doing this, employees will be able to reduce their carbon footprint one email at a time.

BrandQuantum announces Dynamics E.V. Sponsorship for email signature consistency

Sat, 07 May 2022 14:38:57 -0500

BrandQuantum sponsors BrandMail Web to Dynamics E.V. to deliver consistent email signatures

BrandQuantum is delighted to partner with Dynamics E.V., Formula Student Team of the OTH Regensburg, by sponsoring its email branding software solution BrandMail Web, to help the university deliver consistently branded emails.

According to Paula Sartini, founder and CEO at BrandQuantum, “Brand consistency is key to reinforcing a company’s brand values, establishing a relationship of trust, and meeting customer expectations. In the case of Dynamics E.V., brand consistency is fundamental to its ability to gain support and funding from the community as well as attract new students to the university.”

Jakob Nirsch l, sub team leader sponsorship at Dynamics E.V., says, “When the Covid-19 pandemic hit we needed to move our business online, introducing Teams and email to our students and team members. As we didn’t have an email signature, I also needed to find a sponsor that would be able to offer an easy-to-use solution for Webmail. I was delighted when BrandQuantum responded to my request for sponsorship within five minutes of sending the email.”

“Since the first email response from BrandQuantum to the initial meeting and the subsequent BrandMail Web solution roll-out, we have thoroughly enjoyed our interaction with the team. Not only was BrandMail Web quick and easy to implement and use across the company, but the email signatures also look great and the animated banners are eye-catching and getting a lot of attention from our recipients.

“We believe that the work that Dynamics E.V. does for the community is invaluable and we are thrilled that we can assist the organisation in delivering consistently branded emails which are so important in helping the university to gain trust and support from its sponsors and attract new students,” concludes Sartini.

More about BrandMail

BrandQuantum shares the love and gives back with the launch of BQ Cares

Sun, 13 Feb 2022 07:52:33 -0500

This Valentine’s Day BrandQuantum will share the love by launching BQ Cares, a programme that aims to provide support to selected NGOs and educational institutions through various campaigns and initiatives.

To achieve this BrandQuantum has partnered with the technology review platform G2 to help selected NGOs to raise additional funding and build awareness of their causes. As part of the launch of BQ Cares, BrandQuantum and G2 have partnered with RAIN Inc. as its beneficiary of choice for the month of February 2022. RAIN Inc. empowers persons living with HIV and those at risk to be healthy and stigma-free. This campaign will see RAIN Inc., receive a $10 donation for every review of BrandOffice and BrandMail on the G2 review platform. 100 percent of review proceeds will go to RAIN, Inc. This is the first of several beneficiaries that BrandQuantum will partner with in the future.

As part of BQ Cares, BrandQuantum has also introduced a programme specifically to help the education sector. As branding is increasingly important for educational institutions to attract and retain students as well as a fundamental element to raising funds, BrandQuantum offers preferential pricing on its licensing fees to schools and educational institutions for its software solutions. In addition, BrandQuantum waves set-up fees and provides a free service to design monthly email banners to support the institution’s various campaigns, causes and services.

“Schools, educational institutions and non-profit organisations provide valuable and much needed services to our communities,” says Paula Sartini, founder and CEO at BrandQuantum. “We believe that consistent branding is a key component to all businesses for building trust and this is no different for NGO’s or schools and educational institutions. As such we believe that our offering will make a difference to those organisations that are making a difference in so many people’s lives. Our BQ Cares initiative is particularly interested in supporting causes aligned with our values of authenticity, kindness, and innovation. Our programme extends to planet, education, arts, family, health, accessibility, and community."