PATH TO NETZERO DIRECTLY LINKED TO FUTURE OF WORK

BY Realty Plus

As the world continues to grapple with the challenges posed by climate change, the concept of net zero has emerged as the Holy Grail for many governments and consequently businesses to aspire to. India has declared 2070 as its end-date to achieve this target while China has promised to do this by 2060 and other developed regions such as the EU and the US by 2050.

For the manufacturing sector, the course to achieve this is challenging and linked to complex changes that need to be made across the supply chain. For service companies, the initiatives involved will be direct and they will face other complexities and challenges to achieve this.

While organisations and policymakers are largely focused on mitigating direct carbon and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, they often overlook residual emissions. These are qualified as emissions that remain even after efforts to eliminate direct emissions have been implemented.

Just to put this into perspective, research shows that among the 50 countries that submitted, long-term, low-emission strategies, only 28 even quantified the amount of residual emissions expected by 2050.  Employee commuting is one example of residual emissions that often gets overlooked even though it adds up to significant GHG emissions.

Local commuting can be nominal or significant depending on the size of the company, the number of employees and the distance these employees commute each day. For office-going professionals who use their own transport,  the daily commute to and from work accounts for more than 98% of an employee’s work-related carbon footprint. In 2020, emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases plunged 6.4 percent or 2.3 billion tonnes, as Covid-19 lockdowns in the first half of the year restricted global mobility and hampered economic activity. Needless to add, this bounded back as soon as the lockdowns ended. India today sells 3.8 million cars each year and has well over 326 million vehicles on its roads today. Assuming each vehicle emits 3 metric tonnes of carbon each year, that’s a staggering 1 billion tonnes of GHG emissions every year in India alone, rising by almost 12 million tonnes each year.

By adopting a hybrid work model that utilizes flexible workspaces located in the suburbs, generally closer to where most employees reside, businesses can reduce their carbon footprint, while providing employees with greater flexibility in terms of where to work.

The increased convenience that comes from the flexibility to work from multiple locations including their own homes, helps enhance organisational productivity. - This not only saves on energy and costs, but it also benefits the environment, and promotes employee well-being. Giving employees the choice to reduce their daily commute, is therefore a great way to cut down on GHG emissions and help contribute to the journey towards net zero.

The potential for huge carbon savings through the widespread adoption of hybrid working, has rapidly expanded amongst white collar workers, who are now using the available technology to work where is most convenient and they are most productive.

Cities in the U.S. such as Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York showed the largest potential carbon savings when also taking transport into consideration. The potential carbon savings remain significant for UK cities such as Glasgow, Manchester and London as well – with all showing potential to benefit from workers reducing their commutes and working closer to home as part of a hybrid model.

A study compared different working scenarios for white-collar workers including: (i) exclusively from city centre workspaces; (ii) from city centre workspaces and local workspaces and (iii) from city centre workspaces and home. The study looked at the total emissions per worker based on transport, heating, cooling, lighting, energy use and more, to understand the climate impact.  The study revealed that working closer to home or adopting a hybrid or flexible work model could offset the carbon emissions by as much as 90%.

As the world of work continues to evolve, it’s becoming increasingly clear that a hybrid workplace strategy is a way-forward for companies serious about addressing the climate change problem. By allowing the creation of a ‘hub and spoke’ model; companies can create a decentralised way of operating that will include a central office, along with multiple satellite working spaces (forming the spokes). These satellites serve areas where employees live, so that they no longer need to commute to the central office every day.

The flexible working can have a significant impact on reducing carbon emissions, with the potential reduction of up to 214 million tonnes of CO2 per year globally. This is equivalent to taking 47 million cars off the road every year.

By embracing flexible working and implementing sustainable practices, companies cannot only reduce their carbon footprint but also create a more resilient sustainable future for all. Let us not forget that sustainable businesses help to make communities healthier.

The current climate challenge requires a complete paradigm shift.  Adopting a hybrid or flexible model will help companies move closer to their contribution to national sustainability goals. Businesses that don’t set serious sustainability targets may lose credibility – and trust: the trust of consumers, employees, and business partners. Embracing hybrid working will be what sets organisations apart in the business world of tomorrow and will also make for happier employees but also a greener nation.

Tags : Harsh Lambah Country Manager India Vice President Sales – South Asia IWG carbon emissions net zero holy grail greenhouse gas emission residual emission low-emission strategies carbon footprint carbon savings climate change hub and spoke model satellite working spaces sustainable practices