With its emphasis on working remotely and virtually and reducing the daily commute, virtual assisting is, by design, a vastly green and sustainable industry. Hiring a virtual assistant (VA) over a full-time employee not only helps the business owner save money and save time but also reduces daily traffic congestion, which can play a positive part in cutting carbon dioxide emissions and our nation's dependency on foreign oil.

Choosing to hire a virtual assistant instead a single full-time employee makes more of an environmental difference than you'd think. Based on the Carbon Footprint Business Calculator at Renewable Choice Energy, eliminating just one worker's daily 30-mile round trip commute by car is equivalent to any one of the following:

• Saving 6 metric tons of CO2 output
• Avoiding 1 households' yearly electricity use
• Planting 54 fully mature trees
• Reducing 13,445 miles driven by an average passenger car
• Eliminating 1 passenger car from the road for one year

Operating under a planet-friendly business model, the Cybertary nationwide network of virtual assistants keep emissions from travel and its overall carbon footprint to a minimum in several ways. As "Eco Virtual Assistants" of sorts, we work to avoid wasting valuable resources, such as gas, energy, paper, etc. wherever possible.

5 Ways Cybertary Keeps Business Green Every Day:

Wherever possible, a Cybertary:

1. Works from his/her home office so business travel is kept to a minimum.
2. Utilizes phones, email, IM and/or web conferencing for client or team collaboration.
3. Works paperless and shares data and information virtually.
4. Uses the most advanced technology and online communication tools, which further reduce paper waste, as well as courier and freight usage (more reduced emissions!).
5. Keeps digital files and backups over paper ones whenever possible.

You can feel good about supporting Cybertary and the virtual assisting industry, which offer cost-effective efficiency and productivity to the business owner with minimal impact on the environment.

As a nation, now is the critical time to strive for smarter and greener working solutions and to seek eco-alternatives wherever we can. Cybertary is dedicated to using eco-friendly technology, communications and work delivery methods as much as possible. We believe that every step we are willing to take toward the preservation of our planet's precious resources is an important one.