Many of the 460 million or so journey’s made annually by contact centre staff heading to work in the UK and the subsequent carbon dioxide outputs would be reduced if remote operating became more widespread, a new report has highlighted.

Figures from Exony suggest that the commutes made by Britain’s contact centre staff each year contribute around 1.3 million tonnes worth of CO2 to the country’s overall emissions, which would be "drastically" cut by enabling workers to operate from their own homes.

In addition, the contact centre management software supplier insists that so-called homeshoring would offer benefits to professionals who currently find it difficult to commute or who have recently become parents.

Chief executive at Exony Ian Ashby said: "It’s staggering to think that an area of forest nearly the size of Kent would be required to offset the UK contact centre industry’s commute."

"Homeshoring would significantly reduce the amount of traffic on our roads and enable a whole new segment of the population to use their skills beneficially," he added.

With offices close to London and in Boston in the USA, Exony counts Virgin Trains, Vodafone and the UK Home Office among its list of clients.