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The environmental impact of remote working. Insights from a survey conducted at Banca d'Italia

Author

Listed:
  • Dario Alessandro de Pinto

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Donato Milella

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Daniele Macali

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Riccardo Basile

    (ENEA)

  • Carmen Lavinia

    (ENEA)

  • Giovanni Murano

    (ENEA)

  • Marco Rao

    (ENEA)

  • Roberta Roberto

    (ENEA)

  • Andrea Tortora

    (ENEA)

  • Alessandro Zini

    (ENEA)

Abstract

Banca d'Italia has signed a cooperation agreement with the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) to quantify the changes in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption associated with the adoption of flexible working arrangements. As part of this collaboration, a questionnaire was drawn up and administered to the Bank's employees in 2023 to assess the environmental impacts of the hybrid work model, which was introduced in 2022 and integrates remote work and on-site work. An analysis of the 4,255 responses collected at both the head office buildings in Rome and Frascati and at 38 branches across Italy has made it possible to estimate, based on empirical evidence, the environmental impact of employee commuting and the additional household energy consumption associated with remote working, an aspect still relatively underexplored in the literature. Taking into account the number of days worked remotely, the average per capita emissions for staff commuting to work amount to 4.1 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (kgCO2e) for each working day in the office (compared with 4.8 kilograms in 2020, before the hybrid work model was introduced). The emissions associated with additional household energy consumption for heating, cooling, IT equipment and lighting amount to 1.1 kgCO2e per day of remote working. The study also provides an estimate of the average GHG emissions related to the additional household energy consumption linked to a day of remote working, broken down by climate zone. This estimate is potentially usable by other companies and institutions to calculate the indirect GHG emissions (Scope 3) linked to employee commuting.

Suggested Citation

  • Dario Alessandro de Pinto & Donato Milella & Daniele Macali & Riccardo Basile & Carmen Lavinia & Giovanni Murano & Marco Rao & Roberta Roberto & Andrea Tortora & Alessandro Zini, 2026. "The environmental impact of remote working. Insights from a survey conducted at Banca d'Italia," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 999, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_999_26
    as

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    File URL: https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/qef/2026-0999/QEF_999_26_EN.pdf?language_id=1
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Coskun, Sena & Dauth, Wolfgang & Gartner, Hermann & Stops, Michael & Weber, Enzo, 2026. "Working from home increases work–home distances," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    2. Mauro Adriel Ríos Villacorta & Emma Verónica Ramos Farroñán & Roger Ernesto Alarcón García & Gabriela Lizeth Castro Ijiri & Jessie Leila Bravo-Jaico & Angélica María Minchola Vásquez & Lucila María Ga, 2025. "Telework for a Sustainable Future: Systematic Review of Its Contribution to Global Corporate Sustainability (2020–2024)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-32, June.
    3. Andrew Hook & Victor Court & Benjamin K Sovacool & Steven Sorrell, 2020. "A Systematic Review of the Energy and Climate Impacts of Teleworking," Working Papers hal-03192905, HAL.
    4. repec:iab:iabdpa:20246 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. William Larson & Weihua Zhao, 2017. "Telework: Urban Form, Energy Consumption, And Greenhouse Gas Implications," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(2), pages 714-735, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • H83 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - Public Administration
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise

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