A survey conducted by IWG has found that hybrid work has seen companies who utilise the model cut their energy usage by a fifth, as they pivot towards occupying smaller, more functional floorplates.

Interviewing over 500 leaders and facilities managers at various businesses across the globe and coinciding with World Earth Day, the results outline the sustainable benefits of hybrid work.

44 percent of those surveyed have reduced their office spaces by approximately a quarter of their previous floorplate, which has reduced operational costs. 19 percent of respondents have reduced office space anywhere between 26 and 50 percent, while a majority 84 percent have confirmed hybrid work has reduced a number of workplace’s carbon footprint.

“The global shift to hybrid working is not only bringing strong productivity and financial advantages to companies and work-life balance improvements to employees, but significant environmental benefits too. This latest research confirms that businesses that have adopted the hybrid model have already reduced their energy usage significantly,” says IWG CEO Mark Dixon.

“The environmental benefits of hybrid working do not end there. By simply empowering people to work close to where they live, enabling them to split their time between a local workplace and home, earlier research by Arup has shown that this model has the potential to reduce a worker’s work-related carbon emissions by 90 percent.”

The survey also found that smaller, regional flexible workspaces boast higher occupancy rates and consequently lower emissions per employee. To read the survey, click here.

Image: Heritage Lanes by Woods Bagot.