19 September 2023 – Working from home has a lot of benefits for workers, such as creating a better work/life balance. But a new study suggests that remote working could also be better for our planet.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many office workers had to switch to working from home after the first lockdown came into force. Many continued to work remotely for over a year, until the lifting of restrictions allowed office workers to return to the office.
However, not everyone was keen to return, due to the benefits working from home brings, such as a better work/life balance. Equally, some businesses found that there were also financial benefits for them, so hybrid working was introduced in many offices.
Now a US study has shown that remote working could also benefit our environment, by cutting home workers’ carbon footprint by over a half.
Reduction Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Through Remote Working
A new study conducted by researchers from Cornell University and Microsoft has looked at behavioural data from remote and office workers and calculated their respective greenhouse gas emissions.
The team looked at three groups of US employees. Those that work full-time in the office, hybrid workers who work both at home and the office and employees who work at home all the time.
The study looked at five categories to establish the carbon emissions: use of information and communication technology, residential energy use, office energy use, commuting and non-commuting travel.
Working one day a week at home, the research shows, only cuts carbon emissions of the worker by 2%, compared with staff working in the office 5 days a week. The energy saved by working remotely was offset by an increased energy use elsewhere, such as non-commuting travel.
Effectively, many US workers used the time they saved by not having to commute to run other errands, which also needed the use of transport.
But when an employee works from home two or four days a week, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions reached up to 29%, showing that working remotely does benefit the environment.
An even bigger reduction could be achieved by working from home all the time. The study shows that full remote working could cut carbon emissions by 54%, compared to fully working in an office.
Looking at the five factors the study looked at, the researchers found that the additional use of IT and communication equipment needed for homeworking had a negligible impact on the employee’s emissions.
The biggest emissions savings are made by using less office energy by working from home and the reduction of emissions by commuting less. Another environmental benefit from working from home is the reduction of cars on the road during rush hour.
As this reduces congestion, it can improve fuel economy, because drivers don’t have to stop and start in a traffic jam all the time.
Working From Home Alone Isn’t The Answer
While working from home some or all of the time can reduce carbon emissions, the researchers say that it has to be part of living a more sustainable life in general.
The study found that the carbon emissions that were saved by working from home were created in other ways. For example, if a worker doesn’t have to commute to work, they use their car for short journeys during the day, like popping to the shops.
Often, these small trips taken together mean that staff working from home drive more than the employees working from the office, the researchers found.
And there are other factors that reduce the amount of carbon emissions saved by remote working. Because workers are at home, they use more energy than they would if they worked at the office. For example, by putting on the dishwasher, using the washing machine or switching on the air-conditioning.
These changes in behaviour can actually reduce the savings made from working from home.
The net benefit for working remotely is positive but a key question is how positive. When people work remotely, they tend to spend more emissions on social activities.
Fengqi You, Systems Engineer at Cornell University and Study Co-Author
By walking or using a pushbike for the short journeys throughout the day, rather than the car, remote workers can ensure they don’t just replace the emissions they save by working from home.
The study also acknowledges that working from home is only possible for some sectors. Many jobs can’t be done at home, like driving a bus or building a house. However, it does show how office workers can reduce their carbon emissions.
Although the study only uses data from US office workers, the study authors said that it is likely that the same trends would be seen in other industrialised countries, such as the UK, Europe or Japan.
Remote working may not be the definite answer to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but companies in relevant sectors should look at the possibilities working from home can present. Not just for our environment, but also for workers wellbeing and business finances.
