Does working from home reduce CO2 emissions? An analysis of travel patterns as dictated by workplaces

This presentation will focus on the results of a research with several colleagues about teleworking (pre-covid). This research provides evidence about the relationship between travel behavior, workplace diversification, and environmental impact in the United Kingdom using data from the National Travel Survey for the period between 2002 and 2017. The path analysis approach based on SEM handles both direct and indirect effects and allows for a comprehensive study of travel behavior, trade-off effects, and work and non-work trips. The results suggest that workplace diversification is often reflected by longer average distances for work trips, which are often associated with more remote residential locations. Findings also show that for some  categories, such as teleworkers and home-based workers, trade-off effects are observed between work and non-work trips, which increase CO2 emission levels.

Leslie Belton Chevallier is a sociologist and researcher in sustainable development at Université Gustave Eiffel (ex-IFSTTAR) within the AME (Planning, Mobilities and Environment) Department (Dest). Specialising in the study of spatial mobilities and everyday life, she works mainly on the processes, especially digitalization, that contribute to the transformation of these practices at different spatial, temporal and social scales.