As the G8 conference at Gleneagles discusses climate change, an expert in future working practices has called on government to explore policies on remote working to help reduce traffic congestion and cut down on emissions.

Peter Thomson, Director of the Future Work Forum at Henley Management College argues that complicated taxing systems or the "pay-as-you-drive" road scheme are not the way forward to reduce congestion and help cut transport emissions. Instead, he believes we should not be travelling to work so often or indulging in business travel so much.

Technologies such as video conferencing are enabling remote working to become more and more feasible as workers become more tech and web savvy.

Peter Thomson, who recently ran a research-based seminar on this topic, said: “Teleworking and flexible working are becoming more common for today’s workforce. Travel, pollution and stress are all problems for commuters, yet politicians seem diffident about discussing remote working. Companies are beginning to recognise that this is a positive solution to many employment problems as well as commuting, but it needs Government support to become a serious option.

“Currently the DTI promotes Flexible Working as a benefit for working parents, not as a way of reducing congestion on the roads. Effective remote work management is a way out of many of our current traffic and environment problems. National government needs to be much more joined up in its thinking, so the Department for Transport should not simply attempt to move the problem around through road charges and peak-time rail charges but must actually think about the problem, not the symptom. By collaborating with other government departments they can seek more innovative solutions to the transport problems we have today.”