Since we're talking about equally shared parenting, here are some fascinating statistics on how telecommuting can reduce your carbon footprint, via Rebel Dad, a stay-at-home-father. The stats are from Sun Microsystems , which launched an "Open Work Platform" for its employees.
- Employees saved more than $1,700 per year in gasoline and wear and tear on their vehicles by working at home an average of 2.5 days a week.
- By eliminating commuting just 2.5 days per week, an employee reduces energy used for work by the equivalent of 5,400 Kilowatt hours/year.
- Office equipment energy consumption rate at a Sun office was two times that of home office equipment energy consumption, from approximately 64 watts per hour at home to 130 watts per hour at a Sun office.
Sun is based in Santa Clara, Calif., so these numbers reflect workers commuting in individual cars. Where public transportation is a viable option, the benefits of office face time and supporting mass transit likely outweigh, at least in my mind, the environmental benefits of telecommuting. Of course, that calculus changes if kids are part of the reason why you want to work from home. --Dana Goldstein
