Rolls-Royce Sponsors First Internet Environment Conference
30 October 1997
Rolls-Royce Sponsors First Internet Environment Conference
RESTON, Va., Oct. 30 -- Rolls-Royce plc, the aero-engine and
industrial power group, is supporting the world's first environmental
conference to be held entirely on the Internet.
Environment97, which runs from November 3 to 14, will allow engineers,
scientists and the general public to discuss environmental issues -- but
without the need to travel involved.
Phil Ruffles, Rolls-Royce's Director -- Engineering and Technology, said:
"It may seem strange that a company that provides power -- both aero and
industrial -- should be sponsoring and participating in an event designed to
make air travel unnecessary. But we are doing this because it provides a real
opportunity for people to focus on the pressures facing both business and the
environment -- and how they can be resolved."
In his keynote paper at the conference, which is being run by the
Institution of Chemical Engineers on behalf of the Engineering Council,
Mr. Ruffles examines the challenge facing companies such as Rolls-Royce, which
means finding the most desirable solutions for energy conversion and factory
operations in order to reduce their environmental impact.
These include ways to reduce noise and emissions of aero-engines and power
stations through technological advances and processes, such as waste-to-energy
combined heat and power schemes.
Mr. Ruffles said that while more people may communicate electronically,
they have more freedom to use their leisure time and so use air travel.
Virtual holidays may come one day, he added, but at the moment there is a
need for both an efficient transport industry and a tourist industry -- both
of which have an environmental impact.
"And, of course, the Internet itself could not exist without electrical
power and materials and processes to make computers," said Mr. Ruffles.
Delegates can register for Environment97 on http://www.environment97.org
SOURCE Rolls-Royce
