The term ‘teleworking’ is in reference to people who reduce their commute by carrying out all, or part of, their work away from their normal place of business. They are able to perform their role from a remote location, in particular from home. The use of information and communications technology (ICT) enables access to work information and systems, and still allows communication and collaboration with colleagues and clients.
We recommend that you explore opportunities and support offered by your business in regard to working from home, or a central ‘hub’ closer to home. Not only can this deliver environmental benefits, it may also save you travel time.
This activity has been calculated on the assumption that you will cut all or some of your normal solo car travel to and from work by teleworking (see more detail on the calculation below).
NOTE: The core carbon calculation used for this activity is 1kg of CO2 pollution avoided per 5km of solo car travel reduced in a medium-sized vehicle i.e. 40km a week (8kg) X 48 weeks (52 weeks in a year less 4 weeks holidays) = 384kg per annum. This is a quite conservative number based on a commonly used calculation that reducing 3700 kilometres a year of travel in a medium-sized vehicle (getting 100km per 11 litres of fuel) will deliver 1 tonne of emission reduction (in this case the saving would be about 1.35kg per 5km).
Why is it important?
1 Million Women campaign sponsor Telstra has conducted research into the potential benefits of teleworking. Telstra’s Corporate Environment Group has undertaken a detailed Life Cycle Assessment for teleworkers to determine the environmental benefits of working from home as compared with the office. Both the summary and the detailed report can be found online here: http://www.nowwearetalking.com.au/carbon/research
The Telstra study showed that teleworking delivers the greatest environmental benefits when a normally office-based employee is commuting a total daily return distance greater than 34km. The further an employee has to commute, the greater the environmental benefit of teleworking. Other substantial environmental benefits come from reducing office space as a result of fewer workers requiring office accommodation in any one day.
An example of the projected emissions saving of teleworking from the Telstra research is:
An individual working from home rather than travelling by car into the office. Based on a travel distance saving of 34km return, without additional trips during the day and no changes to their work environment (i.e. still have their own desk), the average saving would be 242 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) a year. The savings in time and cost resulting from the avoided travel can also be calculated.