'More hybrid workdays are more sustainable compared to a traditional in-office work,' says Canadian researcher
Having workers work from home has a huge positive impact on the environment, according to a Canadian study.
On average, remote work could decrease transportation emissions by more than 60 per cent for federal employees — who have been recalled back to the office, found researchers at Carleton University in Ottawa.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), “the reduction from 6202 kg CO2e (Carbon dioxide equivalent) per year per employee for fully in-person to 4621 kg CO2e for fully remote per year per employee (total emissions) shows the potential of telework as a sustainable alternative,” reads the report “Quantifying the net impact of hybrid work on greenhouse gas emissions associated with workplace and residential energy consumption.”
“Similarly, the same conclusion can be drawn for Quebec based on a reduction from 1986 kg CO2e per year per employee (fully in-person) to 706 kg CO2e per year (fully remote) per employee (total emissions).”
Emissions associated with remote work are 25% and 64% lower than in-person work in the NCR and Quebec, according to the report.
"More hybrid work days are more sustainable compared to a traditional in-office work," Farzam Sepanta, one of the researchers behind the Carleton Study, told CBC.
On the other hand, workers’ household emissions rose by less than 10 per cent.
The government-funded report surveyed 1,500 public servants across three government offices, including the Canada Revenue Agency, and looked at emissions from transportation, homes, offices and internet use. Carleton University conducted the survey from December 2023 to February 2024.
The report comes more than a month after the full implementation of the federal government’s return-to-office mandate for workers took effect.
‘Eye-opening’ study on benefits of hybrid work
Terri Griffith, a professor with the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., also said that hybrid work brings more positive things to workers.
"The data around emissions, the data around productivity, the data around job satisfaction, on the whole, leads to 'hybrid is the way to go,'" she said, according to CBC.
In a written statement, Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) national president Sharon DeSousa called the study "eye-opening," according to a CP report on CTV News.
She suggested that the government is "squandering" a chance to build a modern workforce that "paves the way to a sustainable future."
"This eye-opening study proves what we've been saying all along: remote work is better work," said DeSousa.
Just a week before the full implementation of the mandate took effect, the PSAC launched a petition against the mandate.
Recently, the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) – which represents 27,000 federal public servants – called for a parliamentary investigation into the federal government’s return-to-office policy. The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) later joined the union on making the call.
