Environmental Benefits of Telecommuting
The environmental and social impacts of telework are impressive.
According to the Canadian Telework Association: “If a million teleworkers were to work at home just one day each week, in a year, Canada would save some 250 million kilograms of CO2 emissions; 100 million litres of fuel; and 800 million fewer kilometres of mileage on our highways and streets. As a side benefit, we would save some $40 million in fuel costs, and 50 million hours of time, to spend with our families, or on our non-work lives.”
Telework can have a profound effect on the carbon footprint of a conventional office. According to a recent study by Calgary Economic Development and REAP, a local association for sustainable business, electricity demands in Calgary have skyrocketed over the last five years, with a 58% growth in 2006 alone.
Dwindling fossil fuels and the toxic effects of automobile carbon emissions have placed additional pressure on companies to become more sustainable. Telework can help the world become a little greener, and make your business more competitive.
A distributed workforce eases traffic congestion, decreases pollution caused by the daily commute, saves in-office energy costs and relieves a significant portion of the broader demand on conventional energy.
