conferencing and remote working - a win-win for business and sustainability? peter james

Conferencing and Remote Working - A Win-Win for Business and

Sustainability?

Peter James

BACKGROUND

HEEPI/SusteIT- www.goodcampus.org

Collaborative project with JANET- Conferencing in universities

Co-founded world’s first NGO on green ICT Co-ordinator, EU SusTel Project Multiple surveys, 10,000 + responses

- conferencing, teleworking at BT & customers- conferencing at DFID- broadband/teleworking in Cornwall ActNow

WWW.SUSTEL.ORG

EU project- 7 partners- 5 countries

Aim- assess the economic, social and environmental impacts of flexible working- 30 case studies + 6 surveys

Aim- Create practical guides and tools

SUSTEL FINDINGS

Positive personal impacts- 85% good quality of life- 73% good work-life balance- 87% more family time- 33% more time ondomestic activities- 6% more involved in community  

A small minority feltnegative/pressured

Reduced travel- although 25-50% offset

ACTNOW

Employers- increased staff retention 60%- reduced business travel 70%- improved customer service 71%- savings in fuel 76%- increased productivity 78%

Employees- reduction in unproductive commuting 83%- improved work life balance 84%- get more work done 89%- work more effectively 93%

TRUE FLEXIBILITY?

“I never had the opportunity to work in the nude in the office!”

“Work becomes more like home,and home becomes more like work”

NEW DEMANDS

NEW CHALLENGES

“My office is under the stairs (just like Harry Potter) and I keep bumping my head”

BT CONFERENCING

Eliminated 338,607 trips a year- 42% by car, 79% at congested times

Avoided per call- 288 miles travel per call- 40 kg of CO2 (c 54,000 tonnes in total)- travel and subsistence of £271- £160 of management time

BT total- £81 million of avoided costs- £54 million of time benefits

DFID VIDEOCONF

2500 staff, c 10% ‘power users’ Last call

- 18% definitely replaced a meeting- 67% completely met objectives- avoided travel costs of at least £156 per call, £636,000 in total- avoided £24 of wasted time

DFID VIDEOCONF

General- 38% VC had positive effects on work-life balance (compared to 3% negative)- 15% VC avoided work absence in previous four weeks- 47% scope to replace further meetings with VC- main benefits staying in touch with colleagues, and feeling part of a team

KEY CARBON ISSUES

Travel- commuting- in-work- private (e.g. shopping, child care, leisure)

Buildings- heating, cooling, lighting, space

Equipment- electricity, paper

Productivity Lifestyle

FLEXWORK CASES

Low case- no space; under 8 miles commute- commuting 70 kilos CO2

gross, 56 net

Moderate case- up to 5 m2 space, 8 miles + commute distance- space 361 kilos CO2 gross, 253 net- commuting 504 kilos CO2 net, 403 gross

High case - 5 m2 + space, 8 miles + commute distance- space 723 kilos CO2 kilos net, 506 gross- commuting 504 kilos CO2 net, 403 gross

FLEXWORK REBOUNDS

On a ‘worst case’ assumption of 48% offset of initial commute savings- carbon savings equivalent to 39% of total BT company car miles

FLEXWORK REBOUNDS

Factors- climatic conditions- home characteristics- preferences- number and efficiency of appliances- energy prices

BT home metering (2009-10)- 25% increase in electricity

Sun (2008)- office 130 watts per hour per worker- home 64 watts per hour per worker

ENERGY (KWH/M2)

UK Office- 205 naturally ventilated, cellular (2003)- 236 naturally ventilated, open plan (2003)- 404 air conditioned, standard (2005)- 568 air conditioned, prestige (2005)

UK dwelling- 261-368 (2005 average, all stock)- 128-216 (built to 1998 Building Regs)- 75-124 (built to 2005 Building Regs)

Sweden- 45 (2001 ultra energy efficient apartment)

CONFERENCE CASES

Low case- 14.6% calls avoid one return journey- 5.27 avoided journeys per user, annually- 10,384 tonnes CO2 per annum

Moderate case- 20% calls avoid two return journeys- a return journey is 267 miles (55 kg CO2 )- 42.16 avoided journeys per user, annually- 83,076 tonnes CO2 per annum

High case (‘raw’ survey results)- 151.85 avoided journeys per user, annually- 299,076 tonnes CO2 per annum

-

CONCLUSIONS

E-enabled working:- doesn’t eliminate face-to-face- quality not quantity- creates new opportunities- creates some rebounds

Positive carbon/environmental impacts if:- effectively managed- used in the right ways- context is right

ASSESSING IMPACTS

1. Scoping- setting boundaries- identifying the reference case- identifying the functional unit- determining impact significance

2. Calculating per unit impacts- net MINUS gross (delivery + rebound)- range of cases

3. Determining volume multiplier

4. Conducting reality check

5. Producing indicator