Carbon Offset Challenge at Insight Americas and Partnership With Bonneville Environmental Foundation Underscore Commitment to Environment

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Business Objects (NASDAQ:BOBJ) (Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250 - BOB), the world’s leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced that as part of its Insight Americas conference in Orlando, Florida, it is holding a Carbon Offset Challenge to demonstrate the value of applying collective intelligence to solve environmental issues. In addition, Business Objects has partnered with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing new sources of renewable energy. The company plans to donate $50,000 for the purchase of nearly 4,000 ‘Green Tags’, renewable energy certificates which will offset the carbon emissions produced by individual attendees’ travel to and from the conference.

The Carbon Offset Challenge asks attendees to estimate the total carbon impact of all visitors traveling to and from the Insight Americas conference and enter a guess through a web form on Insight, the company’s online community, found at http://insight.businessobjects.com/greentravel. Insight is dedicated to harnessing the power of community collaboration on data analysis and visualization, and using the results in a meaningful way to help companies, individuals, and non-profits find a solution.

As part of the challenge, attendees calculate the amount of carbon emitted by their travel to the conference. The individual with the closest correct estimate of the total carbon emission impact of all attendees will be awarded ‘Green Tags,’ donated by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to offset the estimated annual energy emissions of their home.

“The goal of the Insight Community is to change the way the world attacks and solves issues of global importance,” said Marge Breya, chief marketing officer at Business Objects. “This challenge can give us all a clear snapshot of how we collectively impact the earth’s resources on a daily basis, and lets us harness the intelligence in the greater community to do something positive about it.”

Business Objects worked with Bonneville Environmental Foundation to purchase nearly two thousand Green Tags to offset all attendee conference travel, equal to planting 760 acres of trees. Additionally, as part of its Project Green Light initiative, Business Objects partnered with the Orange County Convention Center to utilize and manage recycled products and materials related to Insight Americas ‘07. These environmentally friendly measures include the printing of all materials on recycled paper and the use of recycled napkins, boxes, biodegradable pens and glass barware and mugs instead of plastics.

“We welcome the trend toward a more environmentally sustainable approach to doing business,” said Heidi Eggert, vice president of marketing at Bonneville Environmental Foundation. “Business Objects’ commitment to greening the Insight Americas event combined with its innovative approach to inviting the community to participate in the effort really raises the bar with regard to corporate environmental responsibility and sets a new standard for environmentally responsible business conferences.”

Carbon Offset Challenge the First of Several Challenges Ahead

The Carbon Offset Challenge is the first in a series of challenges to be launched and explored by the Business Objects Insight community. Future challenges will engage visitors to use data discovery and visualization to solve and better understand a wide range of environmental and economic problems impacting the global population today.

Business Objects Insight community’s next data-driven challenge will launch in November and be selected by community vote. Insight participants will choose between a range of economic and social development topics including poverty and microfinance, the global digital divide, global access to healthcare services, and clean drinking water. In addition to awarding prize money for the winner of each challenge, Business Objects also plans to donate money to select non-profit partners who can then utilize the community’s winning solutions to further work on championing their cause.

To sign up now to vote and participate in the Carbon Offset Challenge, or for more information on the Insight community, please visit http://insight.businessobjects.com

About Business Objects

Business Objects has been a pioneer in business intelligence (BI) since the dawn of the category. Today, as the world’s leading BI software company, Business Objects transforms the way the world works through intelligent information. The company helps illuminate understanding and decision-making at more than 44,000 organizations around the globe. Through a combination of innovative technology, global consulting and education services, and the industry’s strongest and most diverse partner network, Business Objects enables companies of all sizes to make transformative business decisions based on intelligent, accurate, and timely information.

Business Objects has dual headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and Paris, France. The company’s stock is traded on both the NASDAQ (BOBJ) and Euronext Paris (ISIN: FR0004026250 - BOB) stock exchanges. More information about Business Objects can be found at www.businessobjects.com.

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