How remote working can help climate change

Skipping the commute to work is a huge  advantage of remote work  for many people. If you can work from home, this doesn’t only save you plenty of time but also money for public transport or gas. 

On top of that, telecommuters also reduce their carbon footprint. It’s very simple: Fewer commutes – less greenhouse gas emissions.  – which means remote working can help prevent climate change.

Global Workforce Analytics estimates that if everyone who works in an office, would work from home just half of the week, this reduces emissions by 54 million tons per year! 

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 29% of greenhouse gas emissions in the USA came from transportation in 2017: “The largest sources of transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions include passenger cars and light-duty trucks, including sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and minivans.” 

And here’s another mind-blowing number: Current remote workers in the USA  avoid emitting 3.6 million tons of greenhouse gasses every year. If you wanted to offset the same level of emissions, you would have to plant 91 million trees. 

Fossil fuels play an essential role in climate change. We don’t only use them for heat or electricity, but also for transportation. In fact, 90% of the fuel for transport is derived from petroleum products. 

Just imagine how much gasoline a single person consumes on a 30 minutes’ drive to work. Twice a day. Five times a week. 

According to the US Energy Information Administration, US-Americans consumed nearly 392 million gallons of gasoline every single day in 2017. 

Now imagine the impact it would make if everyone was working from home and not travelling to work everyday , it really makes it clear to see how remote working helps climate change!