Research Shows Working From Home Could Reduce Greenhouse Gases by 100 Million Tons and Cut Persian Gulf Oil Dependence by 75%
With Earth Day only a few days away (April 22), we decided to quantify how much telecommuting could save, and how much more it could do to save the planet. What we figured out is astounding — if the people who could work from home actually did, we could tell the Middle East to pound sand and take a big bite out of global warming as well.
Our conclusions are based on an analysis of data from EPA, DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Consumer Electronics Association, Matthews and Williams, The Reason Foundation, the Energy Administration, and Census Bureau data. All pretty credible sources, wouldn’t you agree?
Currently, only four percent of the U.S. workforce works from home, but research shows that about 40% have jobs that could be performed at home. Our analysis shows that if they did, these 50 million new teleworkers could annually save 587 million barrels of oil (roughly equivalent to 74% of our annual Gulf Oil imports), reduce greenhouse gases by 101 million metric tons of CO2, and save almost $52 billion at the pump. Each worker individually would save 26 work-days and over $1,000 — time and money now wasted commuting. That’s the equivalent of an extra 5 weeks vacation a year!
These findings are the result of our ongoing effort to quantify the costs and benefits of telecommuting for workers, employers, communities, and the nation. To find our how much gas your city, county or region could pass by encouraging people to work from home, or how much your existing telecommuters already save, check out our work-at-home research page. Incidentally, we’ll customize the data–free of charge–for reporters, government agencies, companies, and other organizations who want to know the potential impact more work-from-home could have on their carbon footprint. Requests can be submitted via email to info (at) undress4success (dot) com.
While telework offers individuals who can work from home a better work/life balance, it also offers companies real increases in productivity, higher worker satisfaction, and reduced costs. For the community, telecommuting offers reduced highway congestion, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and less dependence on foreign oil.
Have you hugged a telecommuter today? If not, here are 28 reasons why you should. Play hooky and pass gas yourself.
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Bookmark Undress4Success.com for ongoing research about work-from-home jobs and home based business opportunities. The whole story will be available later this year in our new book Undress4Success: The Naked Truth About Working From Home (March 2009, John Wiley & Sons).
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