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According to a study published by the Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME) in July 2020, the central beneficial element associated with teleworking is the reduction of trips between home and work.
CO2 savings with teleworking
3.3 million trips could be avoided every working day in France and the emission of 3,300 tons of CO2 would be avoided during peak hours on a weekday
This phenomenon is responsible for a decrease in the time spent in traffic jams for individuals, but also for an improvement in air quality thanks to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. Considering that 35% of working people would adopt the practice of teleworking sustainably, ADEME estimated that 3.3 million trips could be avoided each working day in France and that the emission of 3,300 tons of CO2 would be avoided during peak hours on a weekday.
The reduction of travel, and therefore emissions, is also one of the priorities for Paris City Hall, which wants to make the capital the city of a quarter of an hour (Find the article on this project here).
Other positive effects that result from the practice of teleworking have been studied. First, as active people travel less, their fuel consumption is reduced, which means that dependence on fossil fuels is reduced. Secondly, teleworking allows companies that adopt it in their organization to reduce their energy consumption: light, heating or air conditioning, coffee machines, printers, elevators are not used very often.
At the same time, this allows them to reduce their costs. In addition, the waste generated by businesses on a daily basis is considerably limited. Indeed, the products that employees find at home when teleworking are most often reusable, whereas those available to them in the company's offices are very rarely reusable.
The rebound effects of teleworking on the environment
Even if teleworking has very positive effects on the environment, the various reports that have been made recently draw attention to its rebound effects. In particular, ADEME highlighted the increase in energy consumption in the homes of teleworkers: if they move less, they make the Internet, light, heating, and the computer equipment in their homes work better.
The effect of the use of videoconferencing and more complex computer equipment is particularly mentioned in the points of vigilance, as digital pollution is responsible for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions and for an increasing consumption of resources.
The cumulative effect of these rebound effects would reduce the environmental benefits of teleworking by an average of 31%, according to ADEME.
In addition, teleworking could lead its practitioners to settle further away from their workplace. However, 100% teleworking is rare, so this decision would extend their home-work trips for face-to-face days. The beneficial effect on CO2 emissions would thus be reduced. In addition, people continue to travel, especially by car, for other aspects of their daily lives.
The cumulative effect of these rebound effects would reduce the environmental benefits of teleworking by an average of 31%, according to ADEME. The latter thus calls for vigilance and recommends certain practices.
What if m-work could help you understand the environmental impact of remote working?
Overall, taking into account both the beneficial effects and the negative effects of teleworking, teleworking benefits the planet. The reports highlight that the practice of organized flex office is a key factor for teleworking to contribute to the preservation of the environment. That is precisely what M-Work offers: a hybrid, simple and integrated work planning application. In particular, the tool makes it possible to quantify the environmental impact of teleworking for each employee, and in an aggregated manner for the company.
