4 Ways Remote Working Can Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Did you know that if 3.9 million people worked from home at least half the time, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 600,000 cars for an entire year? Here are 4 ways remote working can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
For decades, there has been an increase in the desire for flexibility in where and how employees work. However, due to the pandemic and the physical restrictions that followed in March 2020, remote working accelerated dramatically. Working from home is clearly no longer an infrequent work routine. This working arrangement is critical for the continuation of the firm and the retention of employees.
As a result, remote work saves businesses money while alleviating employees of the difficulties in:
It is common knowledge that remote working has numerous employee-oriented advantages. Work-life balance is formed by flexible working choices that favorably impact the lives of remote employees. One of the major advantages of remote work, however, is its good environmental impact.
The term "carbon footprint" refers to the number of greenhouse gases emitted by an individual, business, or society as a whole. It may appear like one fewer automobile on the road has no effect, yet it does. Saving time, energy, and money on commuting is one of the major advantages of remote working.
According to Global Workplace Analytics research, keeping 600,000 automobiles off the road for a year reduces remote employees' emissions. According to the same estimate, working from home half the week can reduce emissions by 54 million tons annually.
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Here’s how remote working can help contribute to decreasing greenhouse gas emissions:
1- Reduced Use of Fossil Fuels.
Fossil fuel is used in heating, electricity, and transportation, which are all necessary for our survival. The combustion of fossil fuels, however, emits carbon dioxide, which results in the production of hazardous gasses that exacerbate the climate crisis' catastrophic repercussions. Working remotely leads to an impactful reduction in fossil fuel use as a result of fewer individuals driving to and from work as a result.
2- Decreased Use of Office Supplies
In a single workday, employees use a vast number of physical office resources. Remote working successfully digitalizes the exchange of documents between coworkers and external partners, resulting in a large reduction in paper usage through the use of digital tools. Consider the amount of paper, time, and space saved by digital documentation. Also, plastic usage is minimized as well because employees no longer feel the need to use plastic cups with home office supplies.
3- Reduced Carbon Footprint
Even while commercial buildings are becoming more energy-efficient, they still consume a significant amount of energy for heating, cooling, and lighting. Buildings are thought to account for up to 40% of all carbon dioxide emissions as a whole. Although this figure includes both residential and commercial buildings, individual residences require less energy to heat, cool, and light than a huge office facility, thus, these are saved by remote work.
4- Improved Air Quality
Large industrial workers taking their work home temporarily decreased global air pollution levels. There are fewer cars on the road when fewer people travel to work. As a result, there is less air pollution. In 2016, air pollution harmed an estimated 9 out of every 10 persons living in cities. They suffered from pulmonary disease, asthma, lung disease, and respiratory infections.
Ultimately, remote labor has numerous positive effects on society and the environment. It is estimated that remote work saves 3 million tons of greenhouse gases every year. As a society, we must keep pushing these initiatives to help our world.