Telework: the ultimate green commute

Most green, fastest and safest Commute, which requires the lowest investment from their pockets and tax dollars (compared with mass transit and HOV lanes) from wherever you are at home to the home office. The same is true for their employees.

Johnny / Teletrips reports that any person who teleworked or telecommuted only 1 to 2 days a week and then each year would save 100 - 200 gallons of fuel and 1.5 to 5 tons of CO2 / employee / year (7.5 percent equates to -25 percent individual annual emissions of greenhouse gases).

Teleworking is like giving their employees a pay raise and cut in hours for free. Johnny / Teletrips reports that each of them recorded 2000 U.S. dollars - after 10000 U.S. dollars in tax dollars and 160 hours frees them from commuting each year.

Your organization also benefits from telework, as can be gathered 2000 U.S. dollars - 10000 U.S. dollars of real estate and other savings / employee / year, and greater retention and recruitment of personnel.

Rising gas prices are already thinking about what is the organization of teleporting. Employees, especially lower paid than how contact center agents are less willing to travel the same distance to work, because it must pay more of their pockets.

Telecommuting is also a proven disaster response strategy for distribution by workers makes operations was less susceptible to threats and events. “Telecommuting links to the Internet, which was conceived and developed by the U.S. government to withstand and respond to enemy attack by the distribution network of computers.

And on both 9-11-01 teleworking and the Internet provided. I wrote and said, “Are You OK” e-mails from a friend home in New Jersey, which ended after the evacuation of my old laptop from my Manhattan office - after witnessing attacks, which knocked out conventional communication systems. My son, paramedic, was at Ground Zero, but neither I nor my wife knew where he was almost dead or Alive 2 days, because we were unable to reach him.

If you have a contact center and would like to learn more about telework then invite you to register and take part in a grand Webinar on the subject that takes place Wednesday July 16 at 2pm ET, sponsored by the VoltDelta and Transera. Your questions are very welcome and will help us increase our understanding on this timely topic.

To go green, avoids greenfields for offices and homes

There are many articles on the green in the last buildings and homes. So when we find out about them is in office parks and low-density, which had only subdivisions in the open spaces, such as “green development” I just shake my head.

A “green” building surrounded by huge packs and car parking “green house” in the cul-de-sac, with several SUV in the driveway are equivalent to fitness fanatic who jogs to the shop to buy a pack of cigarettes.

How the matter is not energy-efficient structures of these gains are not fully compensate for losses to the environment caused by (a) maintain that favors the private automobile transport patterns, which consumes more resources and emit more pollutants, both directly and indirectly, than in any other mode, and (b) loss of oxygen generation, water supply, erosion control, food production and other capabilities of life giving benefits when the land is paved over.

That’s why I put quotes around a single “office parks” because of their implications for the environment contrary to what the real parks should be about and that is rejuvenating the image of their own health than the pretty picture, as the billboards to hide, that the destruction in the film Brazil.

Both the “office parks and their residential counterparts by their location and design of low-density access to transportation by other than private car impractical and costly to provide. Although the main line of transit routes serving downtowns and high-density residential, commercial and financial hubs not to serve the sprawling office and residential development incur high operating costs and low demand, and often are the first to be cut in the budget breakdown.

The Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VTPI) with headquarters in Victoria, BC, Canada, is a leading authority on direct and indirect costs of transport, including land use. I already worked with VTPI, executive director Todd Litman, and he knows his stuff.

For example, compared VTPI land for development and consumed by the compact development. For the office from 1000 square feet and parking requiring four points where it is located in the “Office Park” is the environmental footprint is about 2640 square feet, but if it is placed in three stories urban locations from 1 to street parking would be left to mark only 580 square feet.

Similarly, home of 1250 square feet, is located in a development would be built on the footprint of 2580 square feet is located in a compact agglomeration will consume only 1040 square feet.

This last point illustrates one of the possibilities of environmental disadvantage of telework. His reduce commuting, and the issue of teleworker may be degraded, if decides to buy a bigger house, as a subdivision that once was the field, which removes and public transit, cycling, walking or not to Commute trips.

To illustrate the overall impact on the environment to sprawl in particular transport, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (Canada, better heeled equivalent of Fannie Mae) and the Natural Resources Canada, the federal government, published a report which shows that families living in low-density suburban-type home in the outer suburbs emits 11800 kg of CO2 per year. Conversely, if the average density living in inner suburban compact development will only emit 6100 kg, mainly because public transit is readily available.

Therefore, if you really want to go green in the office and home / office at home you must:

* Select locations and buildings for offices and homes to existing long supported the land including buildings (such as recycling, reuse, renew), in mid-to higher-density areas well served by transit, cycling and walking access. The only exceptions are the new walkable transit-oriented development of rail and bus stations and ferry terminals on;

* Develop and implement a strategy to promote alternative driving ie not free parking, subsidized transit passes, bike rakes, and the development and expansion of telework programs;

* When choosing houses offices for the house to maximize existing space, such as basements, garages and spare rooms or, if you can not build or extend the attic.

Travel Green: Free Yourself From the Labor of Driving

This Labor Day weekend, literally walk on foot on the green, and keep the car at home or at least minimize its use. Here are some ideas:

– Go, bicycles, and yes, take transit (even lowly bus) to local parks, monuments, shopping, attractions and special events in your community. It is amazing how much more visible and experience, especially with your family when you’re free from “looking out for the other guy.”

– Consider taking train, bus or ferry as a foot passenger (s) to out-of-town locations, which are attractions that are easy to reach on foot.

Many “Commuter rail network and” Commuter buses “have excellent service weekend and there are often combining local buses and / or taxi service downtowns / activity centers.

Some of my favorites, and transit available from the community weekend Commuter rail / bus are, in no particular order:

* Rockport, MA (Quaint fishing / artist suburban villages in the north-east of Boston, MBTA Commuter rail from North Station)

* Woods Hole, MA (Walkable villages, at home oceanographic institute, buses, ferries from Boston to Martha’s Vineyard)

* Provincetown, MA (famous, loud, proud, historic, beach and tourist cities with direct ferry catches summer from Boston, and buses through Hyannis)

* Burlington, Vt. (Vermont’s largest city, the great center, travel by train and ferry in Champlain, Amtrak and Greyhound from New York, Greyhound from Boston over the gorgeous I-89 north-west of Concord, NH)

* Cold Spring, NY (Quaint community, onetime military arsenal town, which lies within the Hudson from West Point, Metro North from Grand Central Terminal, New York - The train ride is worth it alone)

* Watch Hill Beach, Fire Island, NY (Long Island Rail Road to Patchogue, ferry to Fire Island - to find a beach packages - Watch Hill is the nicest and quietest of the barrier beaches)

* Ocean Grove, NJ (NJ Transit Commuter rail to Asbury Park, a short cab ride or walk into the city. Ocean Grove is a quaint, and dry, the family community founded by Methodist Church)

* Old Unionville, Ontario [near Toronto] (TTC then the subway to Finch York Region Transit. Old Unionville is a quaint Victorian village set in sprawlburbia)

– Or better yet, stay at home. Turn off the electronics, hang loose in the back yard and spent time with your family, relatives, or chill without distractions and stress.

Have a great weekend!

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