In 2020, rather than an active initiative, remote working became a necessity to cope with the challenges of a worldwide public health crisis. As companies reevaluated their infrastructure to accommodate what was once thought to be a temporary solution, it is clear the remote working is here to stay. With Earth Month upon us, it is time for us to recognize and celebrate the environmental impact of this radical shift.

When the environmental impact of remote working is discussed, generally the first point that comes to mind is the reduction in carbon emissions eliminating the commute to work. For each remote worker, 313 gallons of gasoline and 3.2 metric tons of carbon emissions are saved. Beyond the obvious reduction in emissions, remote work reduces other forms of waste as well, such as physical office waste, mass-produced food, fast fashion, and reduced plastic and paper consumption. With remote workers just steps from their kitchen, the demand for disposable, single-use products are eliminated as employees can utilize reusable options already at home.

While working from home can leave a positive impact on the environment, it does not necessarily correlate with being a “win” for every community. We must also consider environmental justice, which teaches us that sustainable practices must be equally accessible for all communities. The same is true for remote working; home is not the optimal working environment for all work or all people. While some workers are more productive outside the traditional office setting, others are vulnerable to working long hours, a more intense work pace, and significant work-home interference. Many of our team members at DMi Partners are looking forward to getting back into the office, so we want to be able to continue sustainable practices from the office as well.

Despite the benefits of work-from-home policies, some employers think that the transition simply means sending employees home with a laptop and assigning them tasks and things to do. A year ago, DMi Partners, we went home with no game plan on how to sustainably work from home long-term. Now, we have established a work-from-home policy, resources, and tools to ensure that regardless of who comes back into the office, we will foster an environment of sustainability and inclusion and exemplify our company values. Also, we look forward to applying the sustainable and environmentally-friendly practices we have adopted at home in the workplace, such as going paperless and flexibility to work from home.

Through our flexible work policies, we provide our employees the information they need to succeed both in and out of the office. Our flexible work policy provides structure and organization for our remote teams; such as culture development resources aimed at preventing isolation and burnout. Our goal is to promote a culture of healthy, happy, and productive workers who can work remotely or in the office to best meet their individual needs. Since we implemented our work from home policies, we now have workers who are completely remote and we are looking to onboard more. We also have implemented 17 PTO days per year, instead of floating holidays for our employees.

Through our initiatives to create a sustainable, flexible work policy, DMi Partners hopes to give its team the support and resources they need to be productive as offices evolve. Plus, we strive to continue to implement environmentally friendly practices to reduce our carbon footprint on the planet.