eCommute Program Aims to Reduce Air Pollution and 
Traffic Congestion

RESTON, VA - At a breakfast forum for area business leaders,  Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) and other local officials kicked off a new federal pilot program in the Washington metropolitan region that provides incentives to employers who encourage their employees to telework. The new eCommute program is funded through a grant secured by Congressman Wolf (R-VA) and administered jointly by the National Environmental Policy Institute (NEPI) and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG). The program aims to reduce air pollution, ease traffic congestion, and improve productivity and quality of life for area employers and employees.

As part of the new initiative, participating area companies will begin tracking auto emission reductions that result from telework programs they institute in their workplaces. These reductions will translate into emissions credits for the companies, which can be accumulated and traded or donated to manufacturers or utilities in the region. Companies could also bank or donate these credits for regulatory compliance for the region.

NEPI estimates that the program has the potential to collectively reduce thousands of tons of auto emissions from the region by allowing employees to work from home one or more days per week.

"If just 10 percent of the nation's workforce teleworked one day per week, they would avoid the frustration of driving 24.4 million extra miles, breathe air with 12,963 tons less pollution, and conserve more than 1.2 million gallons of fuel each week," said Mary Beatty, Executive Director, NEPI. "The eCommute program is unique in that it creates incentives to reach community objectives and empowers companies to make a difference in air quality within their community."

The Washington metropolitan region is one of five areas nationally that have been selected to participate in the two-year pilot program. Congressman Wolf sponsored legislation that supported NEPI's development of an emissions credit and exchange system, and coordination of that system with oversight by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and cooperation from local governments and organizations in the five regions.

The Washington metropolitan region has consistently been identified as one of the most congested metropolitan areas in the country. At the forum, COG officials discussed a planned targeted marketing effort underway to recruit local employers into the new program, and called on local businesses to step up efforts to expand telework opportunities. 

NEPI is a non-profit, bipartisan organization of environmental leaders. It fosters the development of new ideas for developing environmental policies that contribute to genuine environmental progress. The concept which guides NEPI is to more directly correlate quality of life issues with environmental policies. By incorporation of sound science, consideration of risks, costs, and benefits of proposed regulations or statutes, and increased involvement of local stakeholders as priorities are established, NEPI believes that our national policies will more efficiently achieve desired environmental goals.

COG is a regional organization of Washington area local governments. COG is composed of 17 local governments surrounding our nation's capital, plus area members of the Maryland and Virginia legislatures, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives. Founded in 1957, COG is an independent, nonprofit association. It is supported by financial contributions from its participating local governments, federal and state grants and contracts, and donations from foundations and the private sector. COG provides a focus for action and develops sound regional responses to such issues as the environment, affordable housing, economic development, health and family concerns, human services, population growth, public safety, and transportation.

For more information about the eCommute program, or to schedule an interview, please contact Brian Faith at 202-667-0901 or brian.faith@widmeyer.com.