A study in three New Yorker buildings showed that this simple message prompted up to 34.7% of people to change their behaviour and take the stairs instead of waiting for an elevator. They not only saved electricity, the biggest benefit was increased activity and better health. “According to the New York City Health Department, two minutes of stair climbing each day can offset the extra pound of weight the average American adult gains each year. Stair climbing also reduces the risk of stroke, raises your “good” cholesterol levels, and improves cardiovascular health,” states the Fast Company article. The stair signs will now be distributed to hundreds of buildings that have stairs and elevators.

Now imagine what could happen if you burn calories instead of fuel. If your commute is less than 3km one-way you can walk the distance in less than 45min. The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology recommends at least 150min of moderate to vigorous activity per week for adults. You can check that off with just two days walking to work. As a side effect you will get to know your community better, feel more balanced because of the activity and will be more productive at work. viagra

Working from home has many benefits: no emissions, more time and flexible hours to name but a few.

Why is telework a good idea anyhow?

1. No commute time - You are no longer stuck in rush hour traffic. Aside from the huge benefit of free time it also reduces your stress level, saves money that would idle away and reduces your emissions.
   Fact from Natural Resources Canada: “If every driver of a light duty vehicle avoided idling by three minutes a day, collectively over the year, we would save 630 million litres of fuel, over 1.4 million tonnes of GHG emissions, and $630 million annually in fuel costs (assuming fuel costs are $1.00/L).”
2. Flexible work hours and higher productivity- Your most creative time is at midnight? No problem when you telecommute. Telecommuters can work at any time of the day and thus are often more efficient and productive than their office counterparts. You might take a longer lunch break to go for a walk with the dog but you then you can work longer into the evening when you are on a roll. Two thirds of the respondents in the Ipsos study agreed “that telecommuters are more productive because the flexibility allows them to work when they have the most focus and/or because having maximum control over the work environment and schedule leads to job satisfaction and happiness.”
3. More working women - 87% of respondents in the Ipsos study agreed “that [telework] will keep talented women in the workforce instead of leaving temporarily or completely to raise children”. Flexible work hours let you work around your family schedule. You can have breakfast with your children, work while they are in daycare or school, spend playtime together in the afternoon and then finish your work when the kids are in bed.
4. Reduced costs – It’s a win-win-win situation: As employee you save money on fuel and vehicle maintenance. Your organization saves on office space, parking space and also has less costs due to sick leaves (teleworkers are more balanced and healthier). And your city saves money on road construction and maintenance. To top it off the whole society benefits from reduced health care costs.

One person in our Facebook community summarized it nicely:

Bottom line, you can’t beat not wasting hours of your life waiting in traffic jams (while polluting the environment) OR waking up to -30 and going to work without ever having to leave your home OR taking time off when you realllly need a break to perhaps head to the mountains [...] and clear your mind”.

Telework among Commuter Challenge participants

According to Ipsos only 8% of Canadians are working from home or in another location outside their workplace on a regular basis. We checked last year’s Commuter Challenge results for some details: Only 2.31% of all sustainable trips were telecommutes. Among the provinces and territories New Brunswick had the highest percentage of telecommute trips – 4.43% of all sustainable Commuter Challenge trips were telecommutes. Runner-ups are Alberta (3.59%) and Ontario (2.64%).

Telecommute trips by provinces & territories: Most of the 2011 Commuter Challenge teleworkers lived in Alberta. Only the Northwest Territories and Prince Edward Island had no participants working outside their office. (Please note that Quebec, Yukon Territories and Newfoundland had less than 0.5% of sustainable trips as telecommutes and show up with 0% in the pie chart.)

*Ipsos surveyed a total of 11,383 online connected employees from 24 countries* via online survey methodology between October 7 and 20, 2011. Surveyed countries include Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States of America. The employee sample emerged from a screened sub group of an international sample of 18,682 adults aged 18-64 in the US and Canada, and age 16-64 in all other countries, were interviewed. Approximately 1000+ individuals participated on a country by country basis with the exception of Argentina, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Russia and Turkey, where each have a sample of 500+.

Signing up for Commuter Challenge

Our programmer has been working feverishly on the tracking tool. You won’t see much yet as most changes happen in the background; they make the system more stable and reliable. But we don’t want to bore you with all the technical details. The important news is: Registration is already open!

Get a headstart and register your organization for the 2012 Commuter Challenge here. Also have a look at our Workplace Coordinator Kit that provides information how to run a Commuter Challenge event in your organization.

Our achievements so far:

• 12,218 participants
• 985,609 km of sustainable travel
• 162,150 kg of CO2 emissions avoided
• 68,761 L of fuel saved
• 8,779,860 kcal burned through active commute modes

Last year, 20,327 Canadians participated in the Commuter Challenge. We want to top this number! Challenge your friends and coworkers to park their car for just one day this week and to track their commute at www.commuterchallenge.ca.

It’s simple:  Go to www.fuellingchange.com to help us CHANGE FUEL!

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

• Eat a meatless or vegetarian diet
• Buy nothing new
• Turn off the TV and get outside
• Cut out toxic chemicals from your home

All great ideas! Check out Earth Day Canada’s website for useful tips how to get started. You don’t have to jump in for the whole month but can start small with a one-week commitment. Just like Commuter Challenge

Speaking of which, we would like to add one more option for this month:

• Give your car a break

And we don’t even ask for a whole week, just one day this Earth Day & Easter weekend. With the temperatures finally rising and the snow melting it’s time to dust off your bike, search for your comfy walking/running shoes and dig out the rollerblades. Take your family on the first bike tour this year, walk to a nearby park and search for Easter eggs or spend Easter Sunday on rolls.

We asked our Commuter Challenge Facebook community what they are doing this weekend in celebration of Earth Day. The not representative results from our poll are:

1. Eat vegetarian or vegan (5)
2. Taking the dogs out for a big walk (3)
3. Ride my bike (2)
4. Picking up trash outdoors (2)
5. Working (2)
6. Unpacking and cleaning (1)
7. Buy nothing new (1)
8. Turn off the TV and get outside (1)

What are you up to this weekend? Please share in the comments section below.

When?
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
1:00 p.m. MDT

Wednesday, March 30, 2011
9:30 a.m. MDT

Every City Coordinator will receive a PDF file of the presentation that can be shared with their Workplace Coordinators.

Please contact Kristin or Kathryn for the dial-in information or call us at (403) 294-0904.

The countdown is on – 100 days till the 2011 Commuter Challenge! Here are 10 things you can do today for the event:

1. Familiarize yourself with different modes of transportation that are encouraged and rewarded by the Commuter Challenge.
2. Browse our website for the benefits of sustainable transportation.
3. Look up a convenient transit connection from your home to your workplace. Maybe give it a try on the weekend and see how long it takes.
4. Find out if there is a green team or a sustainability office at your workplace. Contact them and tell them about Commuter Challenge. It’s much more fun if others join you and you can make a bigger difference together.
5. Get in touch with your City Coordinator and ask about the plans for Commuter Challenge week. Sometimes there are special events like bike clinics or transportation fairs where you can learn more about sustainable transportation in your town or city.
6. Take the first step and walk to the grocery store or to the coffee shop if the distance is less than 1 km.
7. If you have to run errands with your car, schedule them all in one day so you only have to use your car once.
8. Find a carpool partner to share a ride from home to work. There are a few organizations in Canada who connect carpool partners, e.g. carpool.ca, Smart Commute or RideShare.com.
9. Check with your employer if there are any incentives for sustainable commuting like subsidized transit passes, flexible work hours, bike lockers or reserved parking for carpools.
10. Join our mailing list to receive the latest news on Commuter Challenge.