Remote work can actually result in 54 per cent lower carbon footprint compared with onsite work, a new study has shown. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that hybrid workers who work from home two to four days per week can reduce their carbon footprint by 11 per cent to 29 per cent, but working from home one day per week is cutting carbon footprint by only 2 per cent.

The study, conducted by researchers at Cornell University and Microsoft, used survey data and modelling to incorporate factors sometimes overlooked when calculating carbon footprint, including residential energy use based on time-use allocation, non-commute distance and mode of transportation, communications device usage, number of household members and office configuration, such as seat sharing and building size.