IT IS not a commute that many would wish for, but putting an ocean between himself and his head office made sense for Anders Gustafsson.

Spirent’s chief executive last year moved to America in recognition of the importance of US customers to the London-listed business, which makes testing equipment for telephone networks.

Likewise John Hodgson, the recently departed chief executive of CSR, also made his home in the US, spending two weeks of the month there, and two weeks here, at the chipmaker’s Cambridge head office.

Moves such as these increase a company’s carbon footprint. Flying is already the fastest- growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, and is set to be the largest polluter by 2050.

Against the backdrop of globalisation, cutting flight miles might seem a path to ruin, but it is being done with success by many companies.

3G mobile phone networks have fuelled the development of video calls on mobile phones, while video conferencing has for a long time been seen as a means to cut out unnecessary travelling. However, users of both systems complain about time lags and the broken flow of a conversation.

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, many companies pushed themselves to consider different conference media, but airlines now report that the business market is returning.

One company that has not reverted to extensive travel is Dreamworks Animation, the Californian studio behind the Shrek films.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive, said that the period after 9/11 prompted the group to find a long-term solution. He likened existing video conferencing systems to talking over walkie-talkies because of problems with overlapping.

To solve the problem, Dreamworks started working on its own system, linking its studios using a network of rooms. It brought in Hewlett Packard to create a system that would cut obvious distance between the two parties.

At the root of the system is technology that cuts out gaps and delays. And the specially designed rooms, which include a semicircle table facing a row of large flat screens, are all decorated in the same way.

Mr Katzenberg said that the system has dramatically cut the time he spends flying. “Up until we had this I flew to Bristol once every three weeks. Now it’s once every three months, or less,” he said.

He says also that employees don’t store up work for the next face-to-face meeting with a colleague or customer, but instead visit the conference room in short, regular bursts to sort out problems when they occur.

The product, launched late last year by HP as Halo, has been adopted by Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo. The costs are high. A $500,000 (£270,000) set-up charge is complemented by a monthly service charge of $18,000.

For all the benefits of not seeing the airport departure lounge so often, Mr Katzenberg recognises that there will always be a need for face-to-face contact. “Halo rooms change your reason for flying,” he said. “You travel to maintain relationships, not to do work.”

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