Eco Lesbo Vego

Hands up those who know what telepresence is. Anyone? No?

Oh wait, I can’t see your hands. But with telepresence, I could.

Telepresence, a kind of virtual conferencing, is just one of the higher-end ways companies are reducing their impact on the environment through telecommuting. Telecommuting is type of work arrangement providing flexibility around work locations. Telecommuters use high-speed internet, telephones, Voice over IP, video conferencing, virtual networks and portable work equipment (like laptops) to work from a variety of locations. Most people work from home, setting up home offices and going to ‘work’ every morning there. Others, sometimes called nomad workers, travel from place to place and log in from wherever they like. Telecommuting is also used to attend to international business. This type of virtual work is really only effective in jobs where you don’t need to be on-site to achieve the objectives of your role. Typically, larger companies have used telecommuting most effectively, but more and more medium and smaller businesses are now offering options like these to employees.

So what does telecommuting have to do with the environment?

Companies offering telecommuting often cite a reduction in the environmental impact caused by travel as a major driver for the development of these arrangements. As we all know, courtesy of my handy-dandy Transport pyramid (yes, I’ll be spruiking that thing for all time, so proud am I of my artistic endeavours while tipsy), some types of transportation have more of an impact on the environment than others. The original pyramid focused on local transportation, but here’s a modified version including long-haul travel.

Transport Pyramid, mark 2

The new section, Fishes and Birds, which includes massive cruise liners and aeroplanes, is weeny and right up the top there because it’s the type of transport you should use the least. Planes and big, big boats will stuff up your carbon emissions big time – often whatever you save with all your low impact living, all the good you do, will be eradicated by one measly flight. But you need to work, so what are you going to do?

Telecommute.

Telecommuting allows people, like me, to work globally without the need for international or even domestic flights. Most of my team members are in India. They’re awesome folks. Telecommuting is great for international business. Instances when you might need to fly to attend a conference or meet with the client can be replaced by high-quality telepresence, and internal communication often occurs via phone hook-up. Many large companies also have huge private networks with forums, bulletin boards, wikis and social networking applications – all designed to make global collaboration easier.

Telecommuting traditionally works very well for regular day-to-day work conditions. People who work in niche industries or who live outside of major cities, and who in the past would have needed to move or commute long distances to get to work, can now work from their home, or verandah, or backyard. Think of the environmental impact of taking planes normally filled with fly-backers (people who commute by plane on weekends) out of the sky every weekend, and cars off the highways every morning and evening. It’s pretty awesome.

There are flow-on effects of telecommuting too. Less office space needs to be rented, which means a smaller market for the construction of the high-rise office buildings that so many of us work in. Less driving and flying means less fuel needs to be extracted from the earth. Cars and planes experience less wear and tear and so need to be replaced less often. Congestion on the roads is reduced, which means smoother flowing traffic, and less idling time – which decreases carbon emissions. Reduced travel time means happier workers, who have more leisure time to devote to family – and composting, food gardening, home cooking and other aspects of low impact living that can fall in the priority list of time-poor people.

I don’t telecommute often myself (aside from my interactions with my co-workers in the northern hemisphere). I only really work from home if I’m feeling a bit under the weather, but not bad enough to call in sick, or if I have other commitments like a parent-teacher interview. I love that I could though, if I wanted to. In my opinion, telecommuting is a win for everyone; the company saves money, the workers save time and job flexibility increases satisfaction, and the environment fares much better.

Can you tell I’m a bit of a fan? Go telecommuting!