Do Teleworkers Have Lower Transport Emissions? What are the Most Important Factors?

42 Pages Posted: 20 Sep 2022 Last revised: 10 Jul 2023

See all articles by Yao Shi

Yao Shi

University of Sussex

Steven Robert Sorrell

University of Sussex - Science and Technology Policy Research Unit (SPRU)

Timothy J. Foxon Foxon

University of Sussex

Abstract

With the increasing popularity of teleworking after the pandemic and the threat of climate change, there is growing interest in the potential of teleworking to reduce carbon emissions from transport. However, few studies have quantified the impact of teleworking on carbon emissions, and none have explored the sensitivity of emissions to relevant variables.  This study simulates the difference in travel-related carbon emissions between teleworkers and non-teleworkers with the English National Travel Survey (NTS) from year 2017 to 2019, then conducts a global sensitivity analysis to identify the most important variables.  We find that high-frequency teleworkers (3-5 times/week) have lower transport carbon emissions, but low-frequency teleworkers (1-2 times/week) are the opposite. The key variables influencing travel-related emissions are one-way commute distance, one-way non-commute distance and the number of non-commute trips. These results highlight the importance of preventing ‘tele-sprawl’ where teleworking encourages people to relocate to rural areas.

Keywords: Teleworking, carbon emissions, simulation, sensitivity analysis

Suggested Citation

Shi, Yao and Sorrell, Steven Robert and J. Foxon, Timothy, Do Teleworkers Have Lower Transport Emissions? What are the Most Important Factors?. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4223576 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4223576

Yao Shi (Contact Author)

University of Sussex ( email )

Steven Robert Sorrell

University of Sussex - Science and Technology Policy Research Unit (SPRU) ( email )

Mantell Building
Falmer
Brighton BN1 9RH UK, Sussex
United Kingdom

Timothy J. Foxon

University of Sussex

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