When you telework, you not only make it easier to combine work and family. You also pollute less. And you save money and time. How much exactly? From now on you can calculate this yourself thanks to a new online calculator that the traffic institute Vias created.
According to research by the Vias traffic institute and the FPS Mobility and Transport, teleworking saved us more than 3,000 traffic accidents with injuries in 2021 – when we were still doing it en masse due to the corona pandemic. Or 35 road deaths and 242 seriously injured.
“That effect undoubtedly still applies,” says Tomas Vandereycken of Vias. “That is why we further encourage working from home with our calculator on Telewerken.be, which makes its benefits concrete.” Because by working from home you emit less CO2, your mobility costs decrease and you have more time.
But how much exactly do you save?
“To calculate this, our calculator first tries to get the most accurate possible picture of your commute. How many days and hours do you work? How much on average at home? How many kilometers do you travel? How long does it take you and with which vehicles? How much do those trips cost you and does your employer pay you something back?” You will then see exactly how much travel time, euros, kilometers and Co2 emissions you save by teleworking.
What if you go to work by car?
From the figures in the Federal Home-Work Diagnostics report, we know that the average motorist in Belgium commutes 21 kilometers to his workplace and takes 25 minutes.
“Do you drive your own car (middle class) on petrol without mileage or parking costs and do you telework two days a week? Then in a year you will save 74 hours and 3 minutes, save 867 euros, emit 884 kilograms less CO2 and travel 3,732 kilometers less.”
“Do you drive a company car, electric and with a fuel card? Then you save 444 euros and 508 kilograms of CO2 emissions.” Or as many as 22 trees, because one tree converts 24 kilograms of CO2 per year.
What if you choose the bike or train?
“Cycling commuters ride an average of 10 kilometers to work in an average of 38 minutes, with an estimated bicycle allowance of 0.24 euros per kilometer. If you work from home two days a week, you will save 112 hours and 34 minutes, 30 kilograms of CO2 emissions, 1,117 kilometers and 17 euros per year. You will then receive a teleworking allowance, but you will not receive a bicycle allowance for the teleworking days.”
“Train passengers commute an average of 45 kilometers from station to station, during which they also walk an average of one kilometer in total. Good for an average journey of 55 minutes on the train and 15 minutes on foot. If the employer reimburses the subscription and you telework for two days, you will save 207 hours and 21 minutes, 605 kilograms of CO2 emissions, 444 euros and 8,175 kilometers.”
No general conclusions yet
“It is not yet clear how much we will all save through teleworking,” Vandereycken concludes. But by April 17, the calculator had already been completed 953 times, good for a total saving of 146,834 hours, 230,778 euros and 1,171 tons of CO2.”
Also read:
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