3 Ways I’m Helping the Environment by Telecommuting
Statistics are dazzling. It’s pretty impressive to quote numbers about telecommuting’s impact on the environment. The numbers make telework look like a big green hero. On the other hand, a couple of years back, I remember reading an article arguing that telework was actually bad for the environment. Neither take is completely right. Data is likely left out from both stories. And I can only repeat what I’ve heard, so I thought I’d just share my own experience. Here’s three ways I’m helping the environment by telecommuting:
I don’t gas up my car as often.
The argument against this is that telecommuters get cabin fever. We do. And I do drive places. But the simple fact remains that I don’t use as much gas. When I drove to work daily, I filled my tank weekly. Now that I telework full time, I fill my tank about every three weeks. Who cares what statistics say, I know I’ve lessened my environmental impact, and I gauge it with my bank account.
My lunch doesn’t fill a landfill.
When I drove to work, I still tried to bring lunch from home. When I did that, I had a reusable lunchbag. But wrappers, beverage cans, and packaging were still heavily used because I was always in a rush. Convenience came first. When I didn’t bring lunch from home, I frequently consumed a pre-packaged something-or-other. How is that different now that I’m home? For starters, leftovers are the new convenience, so I don’t waste as much food. I can also buy in bulk, and avoid packaging almost altogether. There’s a lot less plastic going through my hands. Of course, there are truly amazing individuals out there that eliminate this type of waste without working from home. Unfortunately, I’m only striving to be that person. Until then, I know convenience wins, and that’s why I’m happy telework has made a greener lunch more convenient.
I don’t need much paper.
I could say that I don’t print things out because I care about the environment (I do care), but that’s not really how it became a habit for me to avoid clicking print. Printing became pointless because there was nobody there to take the paper from me. If I need a copy, I print to PDF. If someone else needs a copy too, I can email it, FTP it, bit torrent it, Drop.io it, or do a million other things to it. Paper isn’t completely gone, and I don’t plan for it to be. But the difference in paper usage between office and home office is vast. I can remember the old office days of people getting emails and printing them immediately. Now, I even find myself replacing sticky notes with SMS reminders that go straight to my phone.
Do I have room for improvement? Yes. And I want to improve, I really do. But I’m happy that I’ve started. Thanks to telework, I’m saving gas, my lunch has a lighter footprint, and I’m conserving paper. Not dazzling, but not nothing either.
Chip Kohrman is the founder of Telesaur
Post new comment