The sustainability of telework: an ecological-footprinting approach

• Main Authors: Markus Moos, Jean Andrey, Laura C. Johnson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2006-07-01
• Series: Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy
• Subjects: environmental impact sources; commuting; environmental policy; human-environment relationship; environmental assessment; case studies
• Online Access: http://ejournal.nbii.org/archives/vol2iss1/0511-020.moos.html

This paper demonstrates the importance of a comprehensive framework to assess how telework affects sustainability. Sustainability-policy evaluation rarely considers substitution effects despite broad recognition that overall lifestyles must be analyzed to gauge how policy-induced behavioral changes translate into net environmental impact. Case-study data indicate that telework has far-reaching, complex, and varied effects on lifestyle practices, with potentially important environmental implications. Because adjustments occur across numerous consumption categories, the assessment of telework’s environmental dimensions must move beyond single-issue studies and single-dataset analysis. Ecological-footprint analysis, in combination with qualitative data, can suggest solutions to sustainability problems.