A mass move to working-from-home accelerated by the Coronavirus pandemic might not be as beneficial to the planet as many hope, according to a new study.
The majority of studies on the subject analysed by University of Sussex academics agree that working-from-home reduced commuter travel and energy use – by as much as 80% in some cases.
But a small number of studies found that telecommuting increased energy use or had a negligible impact, since the energy savings were offset by increased travel for recreation or other purposes, together with additional energy use in the home.
The authors found that more methodologically rigorous studies were less likely to estimate energy savings – all six of the studies analysed that found negligible energy reductions or increases were judged to be methodologically good.
Read more at University of Sussex
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