After two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have witnessed companies worldwide actively resetting their working models.
Homeworking accelerated from roughly 5% before Covid to 47% in April 2020.
It is becoming the new normal with companies like Microsoft, Spotify, Salesforce, and Twitter engaging in flexible hybrid models that combine remote working and working in the office.
However, it is not only the corporations around the world that have started hitting their reset buttons but also nature itself. Essentially, working from home is beneficial for a better and cleaner environment.
After all, the escape from the rush-hour honking sounds and the dissipated smog allow us to assume a connection.
Let's review the ups and downs we have found in our research and what we believe in at EMPAUA. Read on!
A study by Spain's Institut de Ciència I Tecnologia Ambiental found that homeworking substantially affected air quality, indicating that working from home four days a week would reduce nitrogen dioxide from traffic by 10%. Even teleworking for only two days per week, will still help reduce 4% of NO2 concentrations. What’s more, reduced greenhouse gas emissions create cleaner, healthier air.
Let’s not only talk about traffic here. Remote working also digitised how people work. When companies adopted the remote working model, employees lost access to office printers and paper copies. They had to quit printing and instead improvise the way they exchange documents.
Did you know that one saved tree can remove up to 14.7 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere? So imagine how extraordinary our air quality will be if we eliminate using paper in offices completely!
As a Salesforce Partner, we believe that every company has an important role to play in our society, beyond the profits it can make year on year or the contribution to the local or international economy.
It is also essential for us to contribute to society more and also the environment around us.
What does Salesforce stand for?
We are a Salesforce Partner and in order to best represent our business ecosystem and company in the best way possible, we align with Salesforce objectives and act as a trustworthy brand.
Currently Salesforce's growth has been continually one of the most powerful worldwide, allowing them to give back and commit to remedying problems within our society and the environment.
According to the annual report, “Salesforce has joined the United Nations Global Compact, a voluntary global leadership platform with ten principles for companies to align on developing, implementing, and communicating responsible business practices to build a better world. Salesforce is committed to making the principles of the U.N. Global Compact part of its strategy, culture, and day-to-day operations.”
That resulted in furniture waste, which is often overlooked, and indeed higher energy consumption arose from the increase of purchasing larger houses or building additional rooms.
The ultimate long-term benefits of the hybrid working model is yet to be determine that greater investigation is needed to examine the unapparent secondary impacts and that this change in working behaviour has on corporate carbon footprints.. Salesforce, though, is bringing exciting announcements regarding this exact topic.
What are our takeaways? The trend for remote working is here to stay. A study from Upwork shows that by 2028, 73% of all departments will have remote workers.
Meanwhile, Gallup’s findings indicated that 90% of remote workers intend to work remotely for the rest of their lives, and 94% of remote workers recommend off-site careers. For this reason, since teleworking is already proven to bring significant impact to the environment and tremendous benefits to employees, it can not be denied that this working model will probably become the dominant long-term solution for companies looking towards building a more sustainable future.
As a result, instead of looking for a yes-no answer to the question, there are several things we can do to mitigate the negative aspects of these new work models.
Taking the issues with flights from suburbs to urban areas just to work, companies can implement some policies to tackle this effectively.
At EMPAUA, we make remote working and hybrid working available for everyone. In the case of commuting, work travel can only be made by train. For our German employees who frequently travel to the Berlin office, we encourage them to choose cycling as their main means of transport.
Read on here what EMPAUA is doing to help protect our planet.
Do you want to work in a team that is environmentally-conscious?
Join our team today to support us in taking more actions to combat this problem.
We are an active member of Leaders For Climate Action and work annually on an emissions report so that we can offset our carbon footprint.
No items found.
Quincy
Working Student, People & Culture
Quincy
We create solutions that drive your business success.
Do you need Salesforce support?
Request a Consultation and let our experts advise you.