General question, so general answer...generally speaking all connections to SQL Server cause network traffic, provided you are not accessing SQL Server from the server on which SQL Server is hosted.
What is the comment from your SQL admin? Surely it could not be that they want to reduce network traffic, because as I said, all connections generate traffic. Do they have a specific problem with Access and ODBC? Are they concerned that will generate more traffic than other means of accessing SQL Server?
There are no special teachers of virtue, because virtue is taught by the whole community.
--Plato