Context
In recent years the global workforce has shifted, with the widespread adoption of remote working during the COIVD-19 pandemic, evidenced by homeworking rising from around 5% pre-Covid to 47% during April 2020 as detailed by Forbes. This blog seeks to review the effect on commuting emissions, as well as the potential future areas to explore.
A hot topic of conversation has been to understand the resulting impact environmentally, with articles from Forbes, HBR and others covering this discussion. This is likely due to government policies surrounding the UK’s net-zero ambitions target for 2050 (GOV.UK, 2022). In relation to Unity Insights, this is also a rising area of interest within public healthcare.
Domestic level impact
To date, the primary environmental benefit of remote working that has been explored is via reduced commuting. The logic being that with fewer cars on the roads and decreased reliance on public transportation, the carbon footprint associated with daily commutes is drastically diminished.
The significant scale of this impact may be visible within data shared by the Department for Transport. Detailed in the Transport and Environment Statistics 2022 report, a reduction in total domestic emissions of 42.4 CO2-equivalent megatons (MtCO2e) in 2020 was seen, which, for context, is 10.5% of the 2020 total domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is the largest proportional fall in UK greenhouse gas emissions in a single year since the start of the data series in 1990.
55% of this decrease was attributable to the reduction in emissions from transport. This fall was again the largest on record and likely because of the COVID-19 restrictions. Prior to this, transport emissions had experienced minimal fluctuations, as seen in Figure 1.
A key consideration needs to be raised, namely that a proportion of this reduction in transport will be attributable to other travel not for work, as the restrictions in place were not limited solely to commuter travel.
In the most recent 2023 provisional UK GHG emissions report, domestic transport is estimated to have produced 111.6 MtCO2e, 14.7% higher than 2020 (97.32 mtCO2e), showing how normal practice resuming is potentially resulting in increased emissions. Although interestingly, this is the first time since COVID-19 (2020) where emissions have decreased from the year before, suggesting that stabilisation may have occurred.
Further exploration
Data suggests that the pandemic induced changes to working spaces has led to environmental benefits overall when looking at the highest-level analysis provided by Gov data, which could in part be attributable to reduced travel for work.
To answer this environmental question at a company level, Unity Insights has collected data on work travel from employees as a first step to understanding the net environmental impact of remote working as part of the NHS net zero requirements. It would be useful to utilise this data against baseline results of pre-pandemic work patterns to see the net impact environmentally.
It seems that in 2023-24 a new norm for work patterns was reached, emphasising the need for a new focus from employees and companies to embed sustainable practices, such as by investing in energy-efficient technologies/equipment, supporting adoption of green energy tariffs, promoting recycling and a culture of sustainability.
Although they are not as extensively explored, other areas of interest include the reduction in office space required and associated energy usage of those spaces. In contrast to these potential environmental benefits, consideration to the potential increase in usage of emails, online meetings and cloud-based technologies, as opposed to in-person communication, can lead to increased energy consumption requirements at data centres and homes.
Finally, while not discussed in this blog, other interesting questions to consider alongside these conversations may include:
- Will remote working continue to be the long-term trend?
- Can we create an evidence base to inform the environmental impact of this change in working patterns to help inform decision makers?
- Could fewer cars per household become the norm?
- What could be the resulting impact on public transport use?
- What is an appropriate financial trade-off for environmental sustainability?
- How can decision makers decide between financial or environmental gains?
References
Transport and environment statistics 2022 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
2023 UK greenhouse gas emissions, provisional figures (publishing.service.gov.uk)
How Eco-Friendly Is Remote Working? (forbes.com)
A systematic review of the energy and climate impacts of teleworking – IOPscience
6 Surprising Environmental Impacts of Remotely Working from Home | Earth.Org
Is Remote Work Actually Better for the Environment? (hbr.org)