Embracing Remote Work: A Sustainable Solution for Companies and the Planet

Could remote work be the answer to paving the way to greener business practices and a cleaner future? — I think so!

Sustainability has become a pressing issue for many companies, with the awareness that their practices can significantly impact the environment. As such, many are actively seeking ways to adapt their operations and striving to achieve sustainability goals, including the reduction of carbon emissions and other eco-friendly initiatives. Interestingly, the COVID-19 lockdowns inadvertently acted as a forced “experiment,” which compelled businesses to adopt remote work practices.

Because of this, remote work has emerged as a viable solution for companies that are serious about sustainability and want to reduce their harm to the environment. In this article, we’ll take a look at some ways remote work is a far more sustainable alternative to working in the office and how it can support environmental sustainability.

1. Reduction in Commuting & Carbon Footprint
One of the most significant ways in which remote work can support sustainability is by reducing the number of people commuting to work each day. Daily commuting contributes to carbon emissions, air pollution, and congestion on the roads, which leads to increased emissions.

In fact, it has been found that the decrease in CO2 emissions for even just 3.9million employees working remotely 50% of the time is so significant, it is the

equivalence of planting 91.9 million trees or powering ~540,000 homes with electricity for a full year.

For companies, this means that by allowing employees with remote-compatible jobs to work from home even some of the time, they can significantly decrease their carbon footprint by 98% per employee. This is what companies like Aetna and Xerox have experienced where their employees manage to save a combined ~38 million litres of fuel and reduce over 85,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually simply by working from home.
Apart from the daily commute, remote work can also reduce the need for unessential business travel, especially for meetings and conferences that can be conducted virtually, further minimizing carbon emissions related to air and road travel and thus, contributing to a more sustainable approach to business operations.

2. Decrease Energy Usage → Increase Energy Conservation

Another way in which remote work can support sustainability is by reducing energy usage in the office. When more employees work from home rather than in the office, there is a reduction in the energy usage needed for heating, cooling, lighting, and other energy-consuming systems for office spaces. This can result in a significant decrease in carbon emissions as well as energy costs for companies. For instance, commercial buildings in the US consume 35% of the total energy usage and generate 16% (826 million metric tons) of the country’s overall CO2 emissions. Of course, not all commercial buildings are office spaces, but given that one business found that their office energy consumption is double that of employees’ home energy consumption, it is undeniable that remote working can reasonably lead to increased energy conservation.

3. Conservation of Natural Resources
In conjunction with the reduced energy needed to keep offices usable for employees, remote work also reduces the need for additional office spaces and infrastructure. By embracing remote work, companies can conserve natural resources that would otherwise be used in constructing and maintaining office buildings, such as land, timber, water, and energy-intensive construction materials.

This means fewer trees cut down and deforestation, more natural land for animals to thrive (fewer ecosystems destroyed), and fewer emissions related to doing all that. And let’s not forget about all the furniture and other necessary equipment that offices need as well!

4. Decrease Office Waste
Despite the increasing digitization of our (work) world, the average US office worker generates about 1kg of paper-related waste per day and uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper per year. Worse yet, a lot of these papers which are presumably printed documents are discarded within 24hrs and 30% of them never even get used as they are left at the printer. It is reasonable to assume this is due to the easy access to these supplies rather than a real necessity for them. Remote work reduces the amount of waste generated in traditional office environments. With employees working from home, there is a reduced need for paper, printing supplies, and single-use items like disposable cups and cutlery.

Let’s also not forget about food scraps / waste that may be reduced, more easily recycled, and/or composted at home rather than within an office space. Remote work may promote a more sustainable approach to resource consumption and waste management.

In conclusion, remote work positively impacts environmental sustainability by reducing carbon emissions, conserving energy, and natural resources, minimizing office waste, and promoting sustainable business practices. By embracing remote work, companies that are serious about sustainability can make significant contributions to mitigating climate change and support the fostering of a more sustainable future. The several points covered in this article show how remote work can help them achieve their sustainability goals and prove to their customers and employees that they are indeed serious about this topic

What do you think? Should companies embrace remote work as a means to show they’re committed to sustainability? Do you think remote work can be a game changer for environmental sustainability and the planet?
Do any of the above points resonate with you and your experiences? Let me know in the comments!

This article has been written by a student on the Grenoble Ecole de Management’s Advanced Masters in Digital Strategy Management. As part of a content creation assignment, students are given the task of writing articles based on their digital interests and disseminating the articles online. Articles are marked but we make minimal changes to the content. Thanks for reading! James Barisic, Programme Director, MS DSM.