Telework Adoption and Energy Use in Building and Transport Sectors in the United States and Japan

Abstract

Telework (or telecommuting) has been proposed as a way of reducing transportation externalities such as congestion and passenger vehicle energy use. While there is contention among sources about the secondary induced transportation effects, many studies have estimated net benefits as a result of transportation reductions. Analyses including effects from shifts in commercial and residential building energy use, however, are not as visible. It is expected that commercial building energy use would decrease, and residential energy would increase as a result of telework adoption. We estimate macrolevel energy effects across these three energy intensive sectors (transportation, commercial, and residential buildings) to help characterize the potential of telework as a policy initiative to improve national energy efficiency. For current estimated teleworking populations and practices in the United States and Japan, we estimate national level energy savings of only 0.01–0.4% in the United States and 0.03–0.36% in Japan. In a future scenario with pervasive adoption of teleworking, where 50% of information workers telecommute 4 days per week, United States and Japan national energy savings are estimated at only about 1% in both cases. These energy savings are quite modest compared with currently available policy options to mitigate energy demand. By comparison, an improvement in average vehicle fuel efficiency of 20% would save 5.4% of total United States energy demand, suggesting that the direct benefits of adopting telework are relatively small given the large degree of behavioral and structural change required. Still, presuming that future work practices tend to favor greater adoption, the potential energy savings may merit direction towards environmentally beneficial implementation. If trends in the workplace favor more telework in the future, we suggest that maximizing environmental benefits merits greater attention to how telework is adopted. Obviously the increased number of avoided commutes is a factor, but more importantly, elimination of office space due to virtual offices yields energy savings that rival those from reduced commuting. Future analyses and implementation of telework should thus give greater attention to energy use in buildings and residences.