These days everyone is talking about Going Green: Green Building , green recycling, green, and green commuting. And with good reason, many people reports that global warming continues, a variety of animal species are on decrease and almost extinction. Most of these because of our way and generations before us have treated the planet.
When I read the last copy of Backpacker Magazine, Global Warming issues, I thought about how truly “green” working, and hiring virtually really is. I always have it in my head, of course, but until I read it deeply as how we destroy our planet, and what is being done about it, I had difficulties in time relating the greeness of it all.
So what can we do to save the planet when we work and hiring virtually ?
• Suppose you have a vehicle with a whopping 30mpg and the your daily commute is 30 miles each way, and you work in an office of brick and mortar (or forced your Administrative Assistant to drive to your office every day ) 5 days a week, you (or your assistant) will emit 9,860 pounds of carbon each into the atmosphere every year! So, if you have a virtual assistant, as well as work virtually yourself, you save 19,720 pounds of carbon emmissions per year. Source: Stanford University’s emissions calculator.
• Although difficult to measure exactly how much paper is used in brick and mortar office, what I can tell you is that our use of paper has been dropped significantly since starting Team Double-ClickSM, a 100% virtual store. In the past, it is nothing toorder as many as 10 cases in any given month. By the virtual business and the utilizing of virtual assistants for 100% of the company’s work, we pushing a lot of paper if we use more than 2 Reams paper sheeet a month. So once again, working virtually wins : save trees, save the carbon emissions caused by the processing and delivering of all trees, which make all the paper.
• If we use less paper, it means we are use less toner and cartridges, too.
• What about the carbon footprint we leave when we eat all the fast food ? Article on an website noted that each of us by eating 3 fast food hamburger every week, contribute to the emission from 1188 to 2013 pounds of carbon per year (this includes the energy used for cooking Burger and as well as the commute to the burger cafe). When you work virtually, you are usually significantly reduce the number of times every week you eat out, so it can reduce the carbon footprint again. And you tend to use reusable containers instead of all those throw-aways.
• Most of us that work virtually also utilize virtual fax and phone system, which reduce more our carbon footprint through reduce the use of paper.
• If you have children and work in the office of the brick and mortar (or if your assistant is forced to work in the office of the brick and mortar), you are contributing to greater emissions with all of those trips to picks up and drop off the children at daycare.
• Although I can not find any figures on the carbon footprint left from dry cleaning, we can assume that’s considerable. Working virtually almost significantly reduce the need for carbon-costly dry cleaning.
• Think About Living “green” through reducing the number of office buildings being put up.
• We hear about Green Building (use of reclaimed or recycled building materials) often, but what is about totally eliminating the needs for the new building. This act alone reduce the carbon footprint in the material-saving.
• Let’s talk about the carbon-coast of powering a large office space. Working virtually, you only need to power the room you work in.
• Working virtually, you have the opportunity to choose the green table, packaging and materials.
• And the most fun a “green” feature to working virtually is the envy of all of your friends, family and colleagues!