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Electric cars are becoming mainstream, but does that mean they’re better for the environment? According to the experts, yes. Read our article to learn more.

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Ines Gendre

After graduating in 2016 with a master’s degree in marketing, Ines began her career in project management. However she soon decided to turn towards writing, to bring her core competencies to the service of societal changes. First working as a freelance copywriter, she joined Greenly in early 2022 to help fight global warming.

Matthieu Vegreville

Matthieu is a 28 year-old graduate engineer from Ecole Polytechnique and Télecom Paris, with a background in data science at Withings. While there, he worked on watch activity detection algorithms, and developed a health study activity so that connected objects could be used to better monitor certain pathologies. He has long been involved in data science projects with his brother, who has the same training. Faced with the urgency of the climate crisis, he decided to put his know-how at the service of the environment. 

After seeking opportunities to put her various creative passions to good use, she joined Greenly in mid 2022 as SEO copywriter for the U.S. blog to provide her American perspective on the climate change issues we face today.

Stephanie Safdie - Greenly

Stephanie completed a bachelor's degree in English & Multimedia in 2020 at the University of Maryland College Park. She previously worked as a social media content video creator and freelance copywriter. After seeking opportunities to put her various creative passions to good use, she joined Greenly in mid 2022 as SEO copywriter for the U.S. blog to provide her American perspective on the climate change issues we face today. 

Kara joined the team at Greenly in 2023 as SEO copywriter for the UK market.

Kara Anderson - Greenly

Kara studied her bachelors of law at the University of Glasgow and her masters in international law at the University of Aberdeen, before looking for a more creative career path. She found this in advertising, working as a content manager in London. After a move to Paris in 2019 she decided to switch to freelance copywriting in order to scratch her creative itch. Kara joined the team at Greenly in 2023 as SEO copywriter for the UK market.  

Arnaud Delubac

Arnaud, 26 years old, trained as a designer and in digital communication at INSEEC before joining the Master Entrepreunariat at ESSEC-CentraleSupélec. Passionate about social media since his teenage years, he has created some of the biggest Twitter communities in France before joining the digital communication team of the Prime Minister’s office in Matignon. It was at the Secretaries of State for Digital, Mounir Mahjoubi and Cédric O, where Arnaud directly managed the team, that he developed a strong conviction for the need to use technology to bring awareness to the greatest causes of our time.

Alexis Normand

Alexis is a 37 year-old graduate of HEC and Sciences-Po. After his studies, he spent 2 years working in public policy consulting. He then spent 6 years at Withings, a leading company in connected objects. While there, he continued the companies operations in Boston, USA, and created the company’s health department. After the company was bought by Nokia, he joined the startup Embleema by working through Techstars, one of the best startup incubators in the United States, where he developed a taste for entrepreneurship. His return to France was an opportunity to put all his experience at the service of the environment, during a crucial moment in the climate crisis.

Justine Dumont

Justine a toujours été passionnée de lecture et d’écriture. En 2019, elle parvient justement à faire de sa passion son métier, en devenant rédactrice web indépendante. Motivée par ses engagements écologiques, elle rejoint l’équipe de Greenly en 2022 afin de mettre ses compétences au service de la cause environnementale. 

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Remote Work: Is it as Sustainable as We Think?

Is remote work as good for sustainability and reducing emissions as we think it is, or does the office still provide environmentally friendly opportunities?

The world was already well on its way to transitioning into a daily digitalized society, but the pandemic inevitably accelerated that projected premise. Following the COVID-19 crisis, more people work from home, shop online, conduct medical visits, and have groceries delivered to their home than ever before.&nbsp;Remote work, specifically, has become increasingly common as companies and employees alike have praised remote work for its flexibility and sustainability.&nbsp;But is remote work as good for the environment as we think it is?‍<h2 id="">What is remote work?</h2>Remote work is a style of working that permits employees to work anywhere regardless of locale – meaning that as long as they have a laptop, stable internet connection, and their brain: there’s no need for them to physically report to a traditional office.Remote work thrives on the idea that work does not to be conducted within an office to be productive or successful, rather – it provides the employee with the freedom to organize their schedules and work-flow as they wish.&nbsp;Remote workers can complete their tasks with more ease and efficiency than someone required to go to the office might be able to, as there are often no hours to “clock in”, long commutes to make, or in person meetings to sit through. Remote work allows people to organize their days so that better balance can be established between their professional and personal lives.&nbsp;Many enjoy the freedom of remote work, as it provides them with flexibility that wasn’t possible prior to the pandemic – where many still went into the office to work.&nbsp;<h2 id="">What are the benefits of remote work?</h2>Remote work has a million benefits.&nbsp;I mean, why wouldn’t you want to be able to roll out of bed at nine in the morning, open your laptop up still in your pajamas – and make money while doing it?Besides the comfortable component that comes with remote work, there are several other benefits to this new, now conventional, style of employment. Working remotely allows one to travel, flexibility in one’s schedule, and personalize work-flow to be most productive according to the individual.&nbsp;Personally, as a writer – I can’t imagine not having the opportunity to work remotely. Writers need the creative freedom to write when they feel inspired or “in the zone”. If I was required to go into an office, and sit at a desk for eight consecutive hours between the conventional hours of 9AM to 5PM – I wouldn’t be nearly as productive as I am working from home.I can work from my bed (just as I am writing this article about remote work in my pajamas now), take a break to make a proper lunch instead of grabbing something from a vending machine, do a little work-out in my apartment to break up my day, listen to music in between writing paragraphs, or take a nap if I’m too exhausted from the night before. These are all activities that create balance in my work days which ultimately allow me to be more productive, and frankly – would be impossible if I were required to work at the office.Remote work also provides the opportunity for the employee to change their scenery when they wish. In other words, working remotely doesn’t mean you have to work from home. You can work from a cafe in Paris, a WeWork office, a beach from Greece, or your couch – and you can mix and match these sceneries as you wish.&nbsp;The flexibility provided with remote work allows employees to plan pivotal appointments at more convenient hours. Long gone are the days when you could only go to the dentist after you left the office, because remote work lets employees manipulate their schedule as they wish. I know for myself, being an American that lives in France, I had several administrative appointments to attend that would have been difficult to arrange outside of working hours. If I didn’t work remotely, obtaining my residence card and health insurance would have been much more difficult – which demonstrates how remote work ultimately reduces stressful events by creating more time to take care of personal matters.When I went to college, I didn’t live on campus – and drove an hour every day to get to class. Daily commuting used to be common for employees, especially in the United States. Now, without my daily commute – I have nearly five hours a week of my life back. Remote work has granted many employees with the most indispensable resource of all: time.&nbsp;Remote work isn’t only beneficial for employees, but it’s a big plus for employers, too. As remote work grows in popularity, employers are no longer restricted to hire people based on locale. This means an employer has the opportunity to hire someone best for the job, even if it means they don’t live near the physical office. It allows small start-ups to grow with more ease and simplify the recruitment process.&nbsp;‍<h2 id="">Do people prefer remote work over going into the office?</h2>Many people, myself included, prefer remote work over going into the office as it allows them to freely organize their day as they wish and improves their productivity. However, this isn’t the case for everyone – as some professions are difficult to be productive or successful without going into the office.Some people find it difficult to be productive working from home, as it is challenging to separate the concept of work and relaxation time if both are done in the same space. Therefore, for many – working in the office provides the necessary separation between work and personal life.&nbsp;Remote work has also made many feel they lack a connection with their co-workers – up to&nbsp; 60% feel remote work is the cause of this. However, studies still reveal that people ultimately prefer remote work over going into the office – with almost 80% of people voting that they prefer to continue remote work even if their company has re-opened their office spaces.&nbsp;‍<h2 id="">What are the cons of remote work in terms of sustainability?</h2>It could appear on the surface that with remote work replacing millions of once daily commuters polluting the atmosphere, that emissions would be drastically reduced. However, that isn’t the case,&nbsp; as emissions have returned to the same levels as they were prior to the pandemic – even as most employees have continued to work from home.The truth is, the major con to remote work is that sustainability no longer becomes contingent on the employer – but the employee. Many aspects were once easier to regulate in the office, such as the use of electricity and increased use of devices for working from home, travel for those taking on the newly available life of a digital nomad, or even the recycling bins available in the office that many don’t have at home. All of these little, but imperative, actions towards implementing sustainability ultimately become the responsibility of the remote employee – which can make promoting and accomplishing sustainability difficult.Increased travel and digital use can increase the use of electricity and energy that otherwise wouldn’t occur in person is contributing to emissions just as much as they were when people were still required to work at the office.&nbsp; While it is clear that less commuting has an inevitable, positive impact on greenhouse gas emissions and the environment – the flip side of the coin shouldn’t be ignored. Meaning, people don’t have to spend their time commuting anymore, and they have more time, money, and energy to allocate those resources towards other activities that are just as carbon emitting as commuting.&nbsp;Many predicted the post-pandemic era as a reborn version of the roaring twenties. After months of restrictions, people around the world are rebelling and making up for lost time by traveling, socializing, and attending more concerts than before – which are all high carbon emitting activities.&nbsp;Less time at the office also means more communication via the internet is required, which again – means more energy usage that negatively impacts the environment. Remote work has shown potential in reducing emissions, but it also suffers multiple potential setbacks that the employer can’t control.&nbsp;‍<h2 id="">What is the best solution for sustainability and reducing emissions when it comes to remote work?</h2>Since sustainability will be more contingent on the remote worker than the company itself, it is up to the company to encourage employees to recognize the importance of sustainability on their own.Employers can’t force employees to implement sustainability in their work from home habits, but they should view it as their moral obligation to try. This can be done by first recognizing the typical patterns of remote work that contribute to emissions: such as travel, waste, and increased technology and energy use. Only then can the employer attempt to aid the employee in decreasing their own emissions, and therefore – the company’s.&nbsp;For example, if a company allows everyone to work from home – they are more than likely going to use their own personal computers. While this is convenient for the employee, the employer has no idea how much energy the machine the employee uses or the carbon footprint that was made to manufacture the computer in the first place. A solution to this problem would be to provide all employees with a laptop from a company that produces energy efficient laptops suitable for remote work. This way, the company can ensure that everyone is using the same amount of energy as they would be if they were working from the office.&nbsp;Employers should encourage employees to switch to renewable energy sources at home wherever possible. This can include providing employees with green travel when meeting in person is necessary, such as bike services or a monthly public transportation pass. Also, offering to help employees recycle or properly dispose of previous electronic devices can help. It’s the same concept with recycling in general. Everyone wants to recycle, but if there’s no recycling bin anywhere in sight – no one is going to go through the extra time or effort to find one. They’re just going to throw away what could be recycled.&nbsp;It’s like the infamous phrase, “the teacher can show you the door, but the student has to walk through it.” It’s up to the employer to show the employee the doors to sustainability.&nbsp;<h2 id="">So which is better: remote work or going back to the office?&nbsp;</h2>The environmental benefits of remote work are still clear: less commuting means reduced greenhouse gas emissions, mitigating the use of paper and plastic in the office, and preventing the need for <a href="https://www.greenly.earth/blog-en/reforestation-our-guide-to-sustainable-companies" id="">deforestation</a> to feed the insatiable needs of urbanization as previous offices spaces can serve as housing that otherwise would not have been available.&nbsp;That isn’t to say that remote work clearly has its downsides when it comes to sustainability just as much as working in the office does. However, it is also clear that working remotely has the opportunity to be more environmentally friendly than working from a traditional office if all employees find the intrinsic motivation to adjust their work habits to pertain to the ongoing fight against climate change.&nbsp;<h2 id="">What about Greenly?&nbsp;</h2>If reading this article on how sustainable remote work is has made you interested in reducing your carbon emission to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!Greenly can help you make an environmental change for the better, starting with a carbon footprint assessment to know how much carbon emissions your company produces.<a href="https://www.greenly.earth/en-us/blog" id="">Click here</a> to learn more about Greenly and how we can help you reduce your carbon footprint.&nbsp;‍

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Remote Work: Is it as Sustainable as We Think?

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More articles

Kyoto Protocol: All You Need to Know

What is cloud seeding (or artificial rain)?

What Would be the Impact of a 3°C Rise in Global Temperature?