DIVERSITY
wholly disappear between April and June 2020 and rather shifted to other forms .
The period saw an increase in global sales of the laptop , with over 72 million units shipped - a rise of 11 % over usual figures . The sales of home office furniture even went up higher , with sales of office chairs and desks increasing by 300 % and 438 %, respectively . These increases in volume were largely responsible for the pollution emitted at that time . The research also found that people were expanding their houses , making additional rooms , garages , kitchens , and gardens to make their additional free time more worthwhile , which translates to higher energy consumption in general .
Will the future of EFH become more sustainable ? The Covid-19 pandemic is slowly subsiding and more companies are trying out new different models of remote work , as 91 % of employees would like to continue their hybrid or remote working . Vice versa , 76 % of the companies are willing to continue remote work going forward .
However , the environmental sustainability gains that we saw have started to fade away , despite the remote or hybrid working continuation . A recent paper by Global Carbon Project revealed that emissions are now nearing their pre-pandemic levels .
Organisations have the chance to revamp the way they ’ ve been operating and adapt to the new behavioural shifts . To actually be environmentally-friendly would , however , require an experimental approach to home working .
Research from WSP UK shows that remote work might result in more energy consumption , especially for heating . Even with WFH , the sustainability implications are highly dependent on relevant employee behaviours , especially energy , travel , technology , and waste management .
The responsibility of reducing carbon impact might inevitably fall on employees as individuals to set up an environmentallyfriendly workspace . The impact also goes beyond temperature regulation and commuting , as energy sources are also contributing issues . This would further widen the intrusion not only into the daily lives of employees , their families , and household habits , but also the way the government sets its overall energy policy .
This will also add more complications to corporates ’ ESG objectives - such as their carbon footprint goals - as this will add a new dimension to the scopes , particularly Scope 3 . The continuation of WFH might require corporations and organisations to set up new standards and calculation methods for the never-before-seen footprints of remote working .
72 May 2022