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As the world faces unprecedented climate challenges, businesses are increasingly called upon to play their part in reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
One of the emerging strategies that has proven to be particularly effective is flex office.
This work model, which favors flexible and unallocated workspaces, offers a multitude of opportunities for energy savings and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Optimizing the use of space to reduce energy consumption
Flex office allows businesses to maximize the use of their office space. A CBRE study found that, on average, 40% of workspaces are unoccupied during the working day, and this, even before the health crisis.
By adopting a flex office model, businesses can reduce this unused space, thereby decreasing the amount of energy consumed to heat, cool, and light these spaces.
Additionally, eliminating assigned offices can reduce the total office space that a business requires.
For example, Vodafone was able to reduce office space by 30% by adopting a flex office model.
This represents significant energy savings, considering that building heating and cooling accounted for 36% of total energy consumption in the United States in 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Teleworking and reducing CO2 emissions
Flex office is often accompanied by greater acceptance of remote working. According to a study by Global Workplace Analytics, if those who were able to work remotely did so only half the time, that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 51 million tons per year. That's equivalent to taking 10 million cars off the road every year.
In addition, teleworking can reduce the energy consumed in offices. The Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME) estimates that one day of teleworking per week can reduce the energy consumption of an office worker by 10-20%.
Energy saving thanks to IT infrastructure
Adopting flex office can also encourage businesses to review their IT infrastructure. Switching to cloud solutions can be more energy efficient than maintaining servers in-house. A study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimated thatA migration to the cloud could reduce data center energy consumption by 87% that is about 23 billion kilowatt hours per year.
Many major cloud providers, like Google and Microsoft, have made commitments to sustainability, using renewable energy to power their data centers. Google, for example, achieved 100% renewable energy for its global operation in 2017 and committed to running on carbon-free energy 24 hours a day by 2030. Microsoft, for its part, is committed to becoming carbon negative by 2030. Adopting cloud solutions can therefore help support these sustainability commitments.
A change in culture for greater sustainability
In addition to the direct benefits in terms of saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions, the flex office can also lead to a wider culture change within organizations.
By valuing flexibility, efficiency, and environmental responsibility, businesses can encourage employees to adopt more sustainable behaviors in other aspects of their lives.
According to a survey by the Harvard Business Review, 48% of employees said they were ready to change jobs for a role that had a positive social or environmental impact. As a visible and effective sustainability strategy, flex office can therefore also help attract and retain talent.
The flex office: effective for the planet as long as it is organized
As the world continues to look for ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change, the flex office is presenting itself as a promising solution.
By optimizing the use of office space, encouraging remote working, promoting the transition to the cloud and stimulating a change in culture, flex office can play a key role in reducing the energy consumption and CO2 emissions of businesses.
These savings, while significant, are also available to all businesses, regardless of size or sector of activity. It is a transformation that can have an immediate and tangible impact on an organization's environmental footprint.
It is important to note that the move to a flex office should not be done in isolation, but should be part of a broader sustainability strategy, which could include initiatives ranging from improving the energy efficiency of buildings to adopting more sustainable travel policies.
Additionally, the transition to flex office needs to be managed carefully to ensure that it is beneficial for all employees. This may require investments in technology, training, and support to help employees adapt to new ways of working, as well as in tools, to ensure a smooth transition. M-Work allows you to plan and manage the flex office, while benefiting from detailed data to understand where optimizations and savings are possible, especially in terms of CO2.
With proper planning and implementation, flex office can be a significant and positive step towards a more sustainable future. As the figures show, the potential benefits in terms of saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions are considerable.
By adopting the flex office, businesses have the opportunity not only to reduce their environmental footprint, but also to position themselves as leaders in the fight against climate change.
