Can Telecommuting Help Save The Planet?

It’s something that might bring joy to many who fight their way to work every day. According to a new report, telecommuting – working from home via your computer – can be a factorin helping to combat climate change.   The report was sponsored by BT Conferencing and Danish company Giritech, and backed by the Trades Union Council, the Confederation of British Industry, as well as Greenpeaceand Friends of the Earth.  It concluded, perhaps unsurprisingly, that working from home could significantly reduce road traffic. But it also pointed out thatfor real green advantages to accrue, we’ll have to change the way we use technology.   In fact, according to the report, some 80% of the savings made on the energy of journeys will beobliterated by increased use of heating and lighting at home. But among workers there’s a real desire to work from home wherever possible. According to David Banister, an Oxford professor andone of the report’s authors,   “There is a massive appetite for home and remote working: 65% of people asked said that they would work from home if they could.”   However,more powerful new home computers use more energy, and with routers and servers on 24/7, telecommuting has its own green issues to address if it’s going to make a real contribution to the biggerecological picture. Additionally, some labor activists are worried that telecommuting could also lead to more outsourcing in cheaper economies, taking downsizing to a new level.   Sotelecommuting, which is already a growing trend, could have very positive benefits for global warming, the report concludes, but only if it’s carried out “in a planned and managedway.”