Guide to measuring impact on emissions from home working
Home working, as opposed to office working, accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and many organisations are now seeking ways to measure and compare the carbon emissions from both settings. This guidance is for organisations that are working from home or with a hybrid model and want to get a better understanding of the emissions impact that this has as well as how to report the emissions.
This guide explores:
Which emissions to count
Travel is not included as this should be captured through your organisation’s standard emission reporting or measuring mechanisms.
Home working conditions
It is important that we minimise emissions where we can, but we need to be mindful of living conditions such as space available for work and caring responsibilities. Office spaces should be heated to 18-21 degrees Celsius and light levels should be between 200 to 500 lux depending on work undertaken. People may have underlying conditions that require higher temperatures in their workspace.
Working from home is likely to increase utility bills and you may wish to offer a small financial contribution to bills where working from home is required. There is UK Government advice available about appropriate reimbursements and tax limits for this.
These should all be considered when using this guide.
Typical working from home footprints
From our own calculations at Culture for Climate Scotland and a little wider sector research on home heating, home electricity use and average UK usage we’ve come up with an average utility use for a full-time equivalent (FTE) home worker that you can use to estimate and report emissions for working from home.
| Emissions source | Average ‘standard’ use per FTE day | Average ‘standard’ use per FTE working year | Annual kgCO2e for average standard use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity | 1.5 kWh | 345 kWh | 67 kgCO2e |
| Gas | 2.8 kWh | 644 kWh | 137 kgCO2e |
| Water | 0.05 m3 | 11 m3 | 4 kgCO2e |
Using the figures above we’ve worked out that the average annual carbon footprint for 1 FTE employee working from home is 208 kgCO2e. This assumes a working area of around 9m2 and a FTE of 230 working days per year of 7.5 hours and uses the UK government 2025 emissions factors.
Although there is variation between individual workers, it seems a realistic and appropriate approach to use an average figure per FTE where you are reporting for a number of staff working from home.
If you wish to measure emissions more precisely so you can work to reduce them, you should collate information from each staff member working from home, listing IT equipment used, proportion of the home used as office space and annual heating bills. For reporting purposes, we ask for the total kWh for your organisation from electricity and gas and m3 of water.
Measuring your office footprint
For your office, it is always best to try to obtain figures on utility use from your building manager since these are the most accurate. You can then use one of our carbon calculation tools to convert this usage data into emissions.
If you do not have access to this data you can use our tenant energy toolbox to estimate office emissions.
Home or office working - Implications and considerations for carbon footprints
For comparison with working from home, the table below shows typical gas and electricity usage figures for micro businesses in the UK (up to 10 employees). Assuming 10 desks, we can estimate an annual FTE footprint for very modest office accommodation. Many office buildings with lifts, air conditioning and catering facilities can have significantly higher footprints per desk.
| Utility | Annual low-end usage (kWh) | Annual high-end usage (kWh) | Estimated annual FTE usage (kWh) | Estimated annual FTE emissions (kgCO2e) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity | 5000 | 15000 | 500-1500 | 100-300 |
| Gas | 10000 | n/a | 1000 | 213 |
Calculating the typical annual carbon footprint for one FTE in a small office gives us a total of 296-521 kgCO2e. NB: Water usage is not provided but is likely to be similar to usage for home working. As above, these calculations use the UK government 2025 emissions factors.
The figures shown above, based on our estimates show that while the working from home footprint is slightly smaller than an office footprint, the difference is not large. There is likely to be a significant range of ‘footprints per desk’ with either way of working such that there is an overlap between home and office working. Recent experience has shown that the most significant reduction in emissions as a result of working from home stems from reduced commuting where most journeys exceed a few miles.
Despite this there is also scope for significant emissions reductions in both settings and it is useful to consider the factors, small and large, which provide opportunities to mitigate energy use while still providing a comfortable workspace when deciding on the best workplace.
| Factor | Home working | Office working |
|---|---|---|
| Heating | Working from a home office will usually require a space which is heated in the employee’s home. The additional heating required will vary depending on the efficiency of the building, the available heating controls, the space used in the home and presence of other occupants. | Heating required per desk in traditional offices can vary depending on the efficiency of the building insulation, the heating and ventilation system, building occupancy and the presence of social spaces. |
| Heating mitigation | Suggestions for reducing emissions from heating at home include minimising the space being heated and insulating and draught proofing the working space. | Suggestions for reducing emissions from heating in the office include selecting an energy efficient office space, select an office size to suit occupancy and maintaining/upgrading heating and ventilation systems. |
| Electricity use | A home office space will require additional electricity use for lighting, kitchen and IT equipment and possibly heating. This will vary depending on the availability of natural light, lighting efficiency, IT equipment used, any electric heating and kitchen equipment. | Office spaces require electricity for lighting, IT equipment, infrastructure such as lifts, and catering equipment. Ventilation and heating require fans and pumps. Purpose-built offices typically require air conditioning, which is particularly energy intensive while smaller office spaces in older buildings require more heating in winter but suffer less overheating in summer. |
| Electricity mitigation | Suggestions for reducing emissions from electricity at home include installing low-energy LED bulbs, maximising the use of daylight, using only essential IT equipment, optimising use of cooking equipment and if used, thermostatically controlling electric heating. | Suggestions for reducing emissions from electricity in the office include installing low-energy LED lighting, choosing an office space with good daylighting and optimising heating and cooling controls. |
| Housekeeping and behaviour | Other ways to reduce emissions at home include switching off lights and equipment when not in use and turning down the thermostat if a space is not in use. | Other ways to reduce emissions in the office include switching off all IT equipment at the end of the day, turning down the thermostat rather than open windows if too hot and using the stairs instead of the lift if possible. |
| Commuting | When working from home, there is no commute with can save emissions. | If you have to commute, you can reduce your emissions by walking or cycling where possible and for longer distances using public transport if available. |
Advice
Advice on home energy use is available from the following organisations:
- Home Energy Scotland exists to help people in Scotland create warmer homes, reduce their energy bills, and lower their carbon footprint.
- Energy Saving Trust has useful resources about energy efficiency at home.
- Zero Waste Scotland has useful guides and resources that go beyond energy saving.
