Is remote work sustainable?

Remote work feels sustainable. There are no trains to catch, no traffic jams and fewer lights left on in big downtown towers. But when you zoom in on the data, the picture gets more nuanced. A thousand kettles boiling in a thousand homes. Spare bedrooms heated all day for one person. Laptops, routers, monitors and task lighting running in isolation rather than in a shared, efficient system.

So, is remote work sustainable? The honest answer: it depends. It depends on the commute you avoid, the kilowatts you use and the source of those kilowatts.

For small and midsize teams, the fastest path to a defensible climate plan isn’t choosing “remote” or “office” as a binary. It’s choosing renewably powered, electrified workspaces close to where people live, then designing a hybrid rhythm that cuts the most carbon for the least friction.

Below, we unpack the three levers that matter most: the commute, the kettle, and the kilowatts, and end with a simple decision tree SMEs can use to pick the lowest-carbon setup by season, commute distance and team pattern.

Our impact and commitment to sustainability

At Spacemade, we’ve always believed sustainability should be built in, not bolted on. As our CEO Jonny Rosenblatt puts it:

“Sustainability is more than a goal—it’s embedded in who we are. Our identity is built around creating meaningful connections: between people, places, and the planet.”

That belief drives how we design, power, and operate every one of our spaces.

• 15 locations across London, Birmingham, and Leeds
• 192,000 sq ft of flexible workspace
• B Corp certified since 2023, with a B Impact Score of 89.7 (compared to the 50.9 median for non-B Corps)
• 100% renewable electricity through our partnership with United Gas & Power (UGP)
  

Every light switched on, every laptop charged and every coffee brewed in our spaces is powered by renewable energy. That means our members can cut their Scope 2 emissions to almost zero without lifting a finger.

The commute: Where sustainability often starts

Avoiding daily commutes is often presented as the clearest carbon win in remote work, and there’s truth to that. But the full picture is more complex.

The average UK commute takes around 29 minutes each way, according to the UK Department for Transport’s Transport Statistics Great Britain 2023 report. For many people, that means driving.

A typical petrol car emits about 0.17 kilograms of CO₂ per kilometre, based on the UK Government’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting: Conversion Factors 2024. A 10-kilometre each-way trip adds roughly 3.4 kilograms of CO₂ every working day. Multiply that across a full year and the result is close to a tonne of carbon per person, just from getting to work.

But removing commuting doesn’t automatically produce net carbon reduction. Several studies show that shifting energy demand into homes — especially when homes are inefficient or heated for the whole area — can partially offset those gains. For example:

• One meta-study reports home energy increases of 16 % to 117 % for teleworkers, depending heavily on building fabric, heating systems and patterns of use.
• A pilot study found that for teleworking setups, home heating, cooling and transportation account for over 94% of the related energy footprint; devices and lighting are a far smaller share.

So, the commute is often the easiest lever, but it’s only one lever, and its net benefit depends on what you replace it with.

The kettle: energy use at home vs shared efficiency

When each person in a home runs devices, boils a kettle, heats a room and powers a router, the energy use is highly fragmented. That’s okay in small numbers, but once scaled, it can become a surprising carbon cost.

Residential energy use is often less efficient per person because of fewer economies of scale, poorer insulation, and less central control. A house might use more energy per square metre than a well-managed, shared workspace for the same number of people working. Moreover, small devices (miscellaneous electric loads — MELs) like routers, monitors, chargers and lamps become significant when multiplied across many homes. 

Where shared spaces perform better for sustainability

In a shared workspace, heating, ventilation, lighting and other building services are aggregated. A single HVAC system, optimised controls and measured usage can serve many people more efficiently than dozens of independent systems in homes. That’s why the “kettle effect” is less about kettles and more about how energy is pooled, controlled and sourced.

But pooling only helps if the source is clean — which takes us to the kilowatts.

The Kilowatts: Electrification and smart buildings

Once you’ve switched to renewable energy, the next question isn’t what powers your workspace, but how efficiently that power is used. Even clean energy has a footprint. The more efficiently it’s managed, the lower the total demand on the grid, and the more credible your climate plan becomes.

Fully electrified buildings eliminate dependence on fossil fuels for heating and cooling. Instead of gas boilers, they rely on high-efficiency heat pumps and smart control systems that adjust to real-time conditions. This approach doesn’t just reduce emissions; it improves indoor comfort and operational predictability, which matters for small businesses that can’t afford energy volatility.

At our Hale House workspace in London’s Harley Street Health District, electrification works hand in hand with design. The building uses:

• High-efficiency heat pumps
• Smart ventilation and lighting that respond to occupancy and CO₂
• Enhanced insulation and glazing for natural temperature control
• An on-site solar PV array generating clean energy
• Real-time monitoring that continuously optimises energy performance

These upgrades have reduced primary energy use by 60% and achieved an energy intensity of 62 kWh/m², outperforming UKGBC 2020–2025 targets. Hale House is also targeting BREEAM Excellent, 4.5-star NABERS UK, and Fitwel certification — showing what’s possible when electrification and efficiency are built in from day one.

How to decide the most sustainable way of working for your business

Use this framework to find the lowest-carbon balance for your team. It considers where people live, how far they travel, how efficiently they use energy at home, and the sustainability of available workspaces.

Your answer may not be a single model — most businesses will benefit from a mix of remote, coworking and office use that changes with the season.

Step 1: Where are your people based?

If most employees live close to your office

The most sustainable option is often to keep using your existing office, provided it is powered by renewable energy and operated efficiently. Focus on electrifying heating, improving insulation and switching to a renewable electricity contract before considering major change.

If people live further away (10–15 miles or more on average)

Daily commuting can outweigh the benefits of a central office. Look for shared or coworking spaces near where clusters of employees live. These spaces reduce travel distances while concentrating energy use into efficient, renewable-powered environments.

If your team is fully remote or geographically spread out

A remote-first approach can be low-carbon if homes are energy efficient and on renewable tariffs. However, in colder months or for employees in less efficient homes, working occasionally from a local coworking space can actually reduce emissions, as shared systems use less energy per person than heating multiple homes all day.

Step 2: How efficient are your homes and workspaces?

If most homes are well insulated and use renewable electricity

Remote work can perform well throughout much of the year, especially in spring and summer when heating use is low.

If many homes use gas boilers or lose heat easily

Remote working can quickly become less sustainable in winter. Encourage use of local coworking spaces or shared offices that run on renewable energy and efficient heating systems.

If your main office still relies on fossil fuel heating

Consider retrofitting with electric heat pumps or transitioning to a flexible workspace provider with fully electrified, renewable-powered buildings.

Step 3: How far do people travel, and by what mode?

If commutes are short (under five miles) and accessible by walking, cycling or public transport

A renewable-powered office or local shared workspace remains low-impact, as travel emissions are minimal.

If commutes are long (over 15 miles) and mainly by car

The balance usually shifts towards remote work during milder months. Fewer car journeys save more carbon than the electricity used at home.

If employees live in multiple regions

Regional coworking spaces can serve as local hubs, cutting car travel without losing opportunities for in-person collaboration.

Step 4: How often do people need to meet in person?

If teams need to collaborate weekly

Group those sessions into specific days at a renewable-powered workspace to reduce commuting frequency and duplicate heating at home.

If in-person work happens occasionally (monthly or project-based)

Stay remote most of the time and use coworking or meeting spaces as needed rather than maintaining a permanent office.

If daily collaboration is essential

A central office can still be practical, but focus on upgrading to a renewable energy supply and improving efficiency through smart systems, insulation and heat pumps. If these upgrades aren’t possible, look for a private office in shared co-working buildings.

Step 5: How does the season change your impact?

• Winter: Shared or office spaces powered by renewables are usually more efficient than heating multiple homes. Hybrid working often performs best.
• Spring and autumn: Energy demand is moderate, giving flexibility between remote and coworking use.
• Summer: Remote work tends to produce the lowest emissions, as most homes require little or no heating or cooling.

So, is remote work sustainable?

The evidence says sometimes. Working from home can cut emissions, mainly by removing commutes. But those savings drop sharply when homes are poorly insulated or rely on gas heating. 

So remote work isn’t automatically sustainable. Its impact depends on commute distance, home efficiency and energy source. The most balanced model is usually hybrid, using renewably powered, electrified workspaces close to where people live, while keeping unnecessary travel to a minimum.

Our top tip for sustainable working

If you’re building a credible climate plan, start with where you work. Choosing a 100 per cent renewable, fully electrified workspace is the fastest way to make real progress on emissions.

Heating, cooling and lighting account for a large portion of office energy usage, and retrofitting older buildings to meet modern standards can cost £250 to £1,500 per square metre.

Yes, people will still have to commute, but unless your team all work from 100% sustainable home offices, then it’s unlikely to have less impact on the environment. 

Every Spacemade workspace is already electrified and powered by 100 per cent renewable electricity, verified by REGOs through our partner UGP. That means zero Scope 2 emissions with no fit-out and no capital cost. Also, we’ve strategically placed our locations in highly commutable areas in major UK cities, so they’re accessible by public transport and walking or cycling.

Before you offset or overhaul travel, make sure the place you work is already working sustainably.