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August 28, 2001
Companies Cut Pollution Through E-commuting
by Mark Thomsen
A federal government pilot program will give participating companies pollution credits based on the
emission reductions achieved by telecommuting employees.
SocialFunds.com --
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is looking to reduce pollution, improve traffic
conditions and improve the quality of life of workers through a program that promotes
telecommuting. The $250,000 National eCommute Pilot Program, which is being administered by the
National Environmental Policy Institute (NEPI), gives credits to businesses for each of its
telecommuters. These credits can then be sold, traded, donated or used as a tax break.
 "Reducing the amount of time workers spend
in traffic is a tangible way that each and every one of us can help to improve our environment,"
said Christine Whitman, EPA Administrator, at the program's launch earlier this year. "It also
strengthens families; it's good for our communities and our quality of life."
The pilot
program is being offered in five U.S. cities: Denver, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Houston and
Washington D.C. Almost a dozen companies and municipal government organizations have signed up for
the program, including Houston-based United Space Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin
(ticker: LMT) and Boeing (BA), and the City of Boulder, Colorado.
Auto emissions
reductions achieved through telecommuting are being tracked by the program's Teletrips software,
which telecommuting employees must use via password. The reductions are translated into mobile
emissions credits that have a monetary value.
Besides the actual emissions reductions it
achieves, the program should yield data that nudge more companies to allow telecommuting. The
Teletrips software was designed to minimize record-keeping for companies and make it easier for
them to participate in emissions tracking. The data compiled by Teletrips confirms the validity of
earned credits for telecommuting, and therefore should lure more companies to seek credits by
letting employees to work from home.
Mary Beatty, Executive Director of NEPI, said the
eCommute program will also help companies and governmental organizations target where such
emissions reductions initiatives are most effective. "The standard commute in the U.S. is 33
miles," explained Beatty. "The program will enable us to substantiate, for example, whether
ecommuting had a greater impact on the air quality in Houston, where the average commute is 42-44
miles."
NEPI has calculated that if 10 percent of the nation's workforce telecommuted one
day a week, they would avoid the frustration of driving 24.4 million miles, breathe air with 12,963
tons less air pollution, and conserve more than 1.2 million gallons of fuel each week.
The
pilot program is still accepting participants; interested companies can get more information from
the eCommute website. Those interested in
the Teletrips tracking software can check out the Teletrips website.
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SRI World Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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