The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the workplace challenges and the need to work remotely, which is often a struggle for some. Remote work has become a new way of working used by many businesses during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The number of people working from home is expected to rise by 25-30 per cent by the end of 2021, according to a report from Global Workplace Analytics.
How could we achieve corporate sustainability goals through remote working?
Before we answer that question, let us look at what corporate sustainability is all about:
✅ Sustainability means reducing the effect of a company on the Planet. Goals can be achieved in several ways, like through reduced emissions or other steps that will not negatively affect the environment. To me, “sustainable” is a term that acknowledges that running a business is about making a profit and creating policies that ensure your organization causes as minor damage as possible to the Planet we call home. Sustainability is a dynamic process, so companies need to pay close attention to their sustainability efforts to understand what works and what doesn’t. Some business set their sights on addressing the climate crisis, while others look at the issue from an economic angle.
If we talk about sustainability, we must highlight four behavioural domains that are particularly important: energy, travel, technology, and waste….These have an impact on change.
Environmental change:
Work from home is one of the most common ways employees can reduce their environmental impact. However, this work style also presents new challenges – remote work is not the panacea for the environmental crisis that it is often made out to be. WFH has had a mixed impact on energy use, with some studies find a positive effect while others indicate a neutral or even a negative impact on energy use.
If we want to know whether remote work is good for the environment or not, we can’t just come up with a theory. Stacy Kauk, Director of Sustainability at Shopify said that they want to drastically reduce their office footprint. The office building is reducing the amount of electricity used in the building by having the employees work from home. This means, fewer lights, less appliances and less energy. When going remote, it seems that the organization’s environmental impact will be reduced. However, that begs the question: What about the 5,000 employees who work from different offices emitting different gases? What do people at home with their electronic devices?
Behavioural change:
Behavioral change across these domains can have major environmental impacts when aggregated across individuals, teams, companies, and industries. So what if nobody is going to the local restaurant around the corner anymore? Everyone who can is ordering food or cooks at home: Uber has redefined the transport market across cities globally, providing an alternative to the traditional taxi industry. We learn: If we do not reflect our change our behaviour, going remote doesn’t look so green anymore. A company’s footprint appears to look the same or increase as emissions move from a few office spaces to thousands of homes across the world. So, which is better?
Economic change:
There are many ways to increase customer loyalty by reducing their environmental footprint. And even if your employees work remotely, it would be best if you still put in place several sustainability initiatives. As a consequence, operating more sustainably also means always economic change.
We, from Hopp Team, are working every day for intelligent and sustainable cities. We do not only try to reduce people’s carbon footprint through less communiting, we do also support actions of development & growth. With our partner Evertreen we plant real trees, offset Co2 and alleviate poverty. Our very existence and health depend on the well-being of the earth. The greatest contribution you can make to the environment is embracing corporate sustainability and giving back to the environment. It’s your chance to show how much you care for the environment and the Planet.
We believe that trees are a source of biodiversity and improve water quality and the air we breathe. When did you walk the last time to work? Our flexible workspaces are ideally not more than 15min by foot away.
WFH is a popular trend among millennials and Gen Z.. But it’s not always a green choice. It is essential to mention that disruptive technologies, sustainable business and remote-work software are three separate and complex concepts. Companies are having to rethink their approach to remote working, as the benefits of being able to work from home are outweighed by the challenges of managing employees who are no longer physically present in the office.
Whether you’re starting your sustainability initiatives from the ground up or you want to build on existing plans, you want to know if it’s all worth the effort. We understand that, after all, your time and resources should be spent wisely.
New Workspace, New chance achieving sustainability goals ✅
