71% of employees surveyed often or always engage in eco-friendly behaviours when working remotely

Working from home also appears to encourage more sustainable lifestyles, with 78.2% of respondents saying they have consciously changed their behaviour since commuting to the office less.

As fuel prices continue to increase amidst geopolitical uncertainties across the globe, more organisations are looking inwards into reinforcing broader sustainable habits. This includes allowing teams to work remotely to cut fuel costs and reduce commuting emissions. 

An Earth Day survey commissioned by Bospar revealed that remote work reinforces sustainable behaviour, with 71% of employees often or always engaging in eco-friendly behaviours when working remotely, and 78.2% stating that they make lifestyle changes since commuting less to the office. This suggests that fewer commutes lead to more control over time and daily routines, which in turn encourages more sustainable choices.

*While this survey was conducted in the US, HRO believes the findings remain relevant to our readers in APAC.

The report also showed that 61.1% of employees feel they generate less waste when working from home in comparison to just 10.1% who reported generating more. 

This can be attribute to a sharp reduction in disposable use, coming from: 

• 36.1% say they never use disposable coffee cups at home, compared to 16.1% in the office,
• Frequent disposable utensil use drops from 30.8% in-office to just 10.1% at home, and
• 67.5% saying it’s easier to use reusable items when working remotely.

While corporate sustainability efforts often focus on energy or supply chains, commuting is an immediate emissions driver that remote work directly reduces:

• 77.6% of workers commute by driving alone
• Only 1.0% use active transportation like walking or biking
• More than 65% commute at least three days per week

In fact, remote work was found to significantly offset that emission load:

• 46.4% avoid 2–5 hours of commuting per week 
• 25.3% avoid more than six hours weekly 
• Nearly 90% believe remote work reduces their carbon footprint, with 52.7% saying it does so significantly

Commenting on the findings, Curtis Sparrer, Principal, Bospar, said that while companies talk a lot about sustainability goals, commuting remains one of the largest and most overlooked sources of emissions.

"If most workers are still driving alone, reducing the need to commute may be one of the fastest ways to cut carbon emissions."

The data also highlighted the growing tension between corporate sustainability messaging and workplace expectations: 

• 64.3% have seen companies promote sustainability while requiring commutes 
• 72.2% believe companies should report the carbon impact of commuting policies 
• 81.1% support tax incentives for fully remote companies

"Employees are starting to connect the dots,” Sparrer said. “You can’t claim to be sustainable while requiring thousands of people to drive to an office every day. That disconnect is becoming harder to ignore."

Overall, Gabrielle Ayala, Principal at Propeller Insights, said the data highlights "an exciting opportunity for companies to expand how they think about sustainability."

"Workplace flexibility isn’t typically framed as a climate solution, but this research suggests it can be,” she said, adding that it also raises important questions about how in-office expectations fit into that equation and how companies can build more complete sustainability strategies.

Read how various markets across the APAC region have been implementing work-from-home measures in the last few weeks: 

• Malaysia
• Indonesia
• Sri Lanka
• Philippines
• Australia

Lead image / Bospar