June 10, 2008 - Sun Microsystems has released new numbers detailing the carbon, commute, and cost benefits of its Open Work program, which encourages employees to telework whenever possible.

Sun conducted an in-depth study to answer the question "Does Open Work really save energy or just transfer energy cost and load to employees?" Based on the research, the answer appears to be the former. Some key findings:

• Sun's high-tech office equipment consumes twice the power that most home office equipment does. Employees who spend half the work week in home offices reduce their total energy footprint by about 5,400 kilowatt hours per year.
• The extra money workers spend to power their home offices is offset by their savings from commuting less. Employees save more than $1,700 a year in gasoline and wear and tear on their vehicles by working at home an average of 2.5 days a week. (They also save 2.5 work weeks annually in commute time.)
• Commuting accounts for 98% of each employee's work-related carbon footprint, compared to less than 1.7% of total carbon emissions to power office equipment.

Fifty-six percent of Sun's global workforce telecommutes at least part of the time, Sun says.

Sun enjoys significant savings from the program as well. With 19,000 employees teleworking occasionally, the company was able to downsize its office space by more than 15% in 2007, saving $63.9 million in real estate costs.