A significant portion of the global workforce worked remotely in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in sharp declines (in some cases, 50 percent) in air pollution around the globe.
As companies debate whether to allow workers continuing working remotely, come into the office or have a hybrid work week, workers that telecommute four days a week could cut nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels by as much as 10 percent, a new study finds.
Researchers at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) looked at three different scenarios — telecommuting two, three or four days a week — and found that NO2 levels would decline by 4 percent, 8 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
Workers that telecommute four days a week could cut NO2 levels by 10%, a new study finds
If 40 percent of service-sector employees telecommuted four days a week, not only would NO2 levels decline 10 percent, but traffic emissions would decline 15 percent a well.
Additionally, the length of trips that the remaining workers take to get to their jobs would decline by 37.5 percent.
In the other two scenarios — (two days for 20 percent of the workforce and three days for 30 percent)— traffic emissions would decline by 5 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
The length of work-related travel would also decline by rates of 12.5 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
The researchers based their findings on mobility and air quality data obtained in Barcelona during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The researchers based their findings on mobility and air quality data obtained in Barcelona during the COVID-19 lockdown
‘We propose that teleworking be prioritized and promoted as an effective contribution towards reduction of long-term urban air pollution and short-term pollution peaks,’ the study’s authors wrote.
The research, done in conjunction with urban mobility planning company Anthesis Lavola, was based on mobility reports from the Barcelona Metropolitan Transport Authority.
Nearly 85 percent of Barcelona’s work force have service-sector jobs and 40 percent of all vehicles being driven are done for work purposes.
Henceforth, a significant push to telecommute a portion of the work week could have wide-ranging implications on changes in pollution and an improvement to air quality.
Barcelona has an estimated workforce population of approximately 1.1 million, according to the World Cities Culture Forum.
The researchers also saw significant percentage levels of NO2 concentration between the base case and the three scenarios during the typical morning commute from Monday through Friday.
The researchers also saw significant percentage levels of NO2 concentration between the base case and the three scenarios during the typical morning commute from Monday through Friday
There was also a significant decline in NO2 levels between the base case and the three scenarios during the typical evening commute from Monday through Friday.
There was also a significant decline in NO2 levels between the base case and the three scenarios during the typical evening commute from Monday through Friday
The study found that NO2 levels would decline 4% and 8% if workers telecommuted two or three days a week. If 40% of service-sector employees telecommuted four days a week, traffic emissions would decline 15% and trip length would decline 37.5%
The researchers also found that online education would cut private vehicle by 20 percent and shopping would be cut by 30 percent.
‘The application of this [third] scenario could be viable and realistic during periods of high pollution, as it is simply based on the maximization of teleworking and the reduction of other work-related travel and shopping,’ ICTA-UAB researcher and the study’s lead author, Alba Badia, said in a statement.
The research was recently published in Urban Sustainability.
The findings come several months after the U.K. government found that air pollution was at its lowest levels since records began, as NO2 and particulate matter dropped to all-time low levels.
In June, a study from NASA found that levels of nitrogen oxides decreased globally by 15 percent from June 2020.
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk