Is Remote Work Really Better For The Planet?

Photo by Yasmina H on Unsplash

Even before COVID-19 was raging across the world we were headed towards a central paradigm shift in the work lives of millions across the globe. With improving internet access and smaller and smaller internet capable devices that freed thousands from being stuck at the knowledge workers cubicle and or office, it’s clear what direction we were heading. This brings up the primary question for this article. Is remote work better for the planet? Let’s dissect that a little bit here.

The Morning Commute

As millions of knowledge workers no longer have to commute one would think that would reduce the carbon footprint of many, while this is true to some extent it isn’t that whole picture. As people are freed from the office they’re also freed from their home location. While many people will likely continue to work from home, it also makes a lot of sense that people would also start to travel more. These knowledge workers now have the ability to take planes, trains and cars to wherever they choose and they can continue to “work from home” since their home can be wherever they choose. This creates a problem for those that choose to either travel long distances by car or even worse, by plane. As planes are one of the heaviest CO2 polluters around, it’s incredibly inconsistent with the direction needed to curb global warming. While there are…