Peter James Conferencing and Remote Working - A Win-Win for Business and Sustainability?
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
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 WWW.SUSTEL.ORG
SUSTEL FINDINGS Positive personal impacts - 85% good quality of life - 73% good work-life balance - 87% more family time - 33% more time on domestic activities - 6% more involved in community A small minority felt negative/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!
NEW DEMANDS Work becomes more like home, and home becomes more like work
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 worklife 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 m 2 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 CO 2 kilos net, 506 gross - commuting 504 kilos CO 2 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