Exploring potential of working from home (WFH) for the reduction of GHG emissions in post pandemic scenario

Abstract

Since March 2020 a new discussion around public health and safety, environment and economic activities gained a lot of traction. The novel Corona virus or COVID 19, first reported during the end of 2019, has pushed architects as well as planners to relook at the way we utilise or interact with public spaces. The introduction of Working from Home (WFH), which was never an alien concept, on a national and even global level resulted in a number of positive and negative impacts. Trying times like these and the intertwined chain reactions due to globalisation and urbanisation proved that economic activities at no cost can completely be halted, in which case, people will suffer and so shall the stability of a society or community. Environmental loss was observed to be slowing down due to a sudden halt in anthropogenic and economic activities. Later on, adaptation of alternative approaches emerged proving again that ―Necessity is the mother if all inventions. The unfortunate pandemic puts the topic of the study at an advantage to analyse energy consumption patterns and emission magnitude otherwise which would have been only a speculative simulation at some point in the near future. With the baseline datasets from pre-lockdown, a definite assessment can be drawn to as to quantify the environmental damage expected to be caused by the present functioning Science and Technology Parks (STPs) and CBD areas along with the establishment of new ones in the times ahead. Some of the observations and facts from before shed light on the WFH scenario in terms of emissions and energy consumption. For example, 3.6 million tons of GHGs emissions, annually, can be avoided due to WFH in the US. Telecommuting, one of the most popular ways to conduct business in this modern age, is a part of climate change as it can save 9-14 billion kWH of energy annually. Another data suggests, WFH has potential to reduce crude oil consumption by 640 million barrels and cut emissions by 54 million tons of GHG. According to the research and available information, expansion of WFH half the time would equate to GHG savings worth 10 million cars off the road. Research from 2018, estimates the ICT sector‘s carbon footprint to be 730 Mt CO₂- equivalents or 1.4% of overall global emissions, and the sector uses 800 TWh or 3.6% of the global electricity for its operation (based on 2015 data). Exploring Potential of Working from Home (WFH) for the Reduction of GHG Emissions in Post Pandemic Scenario: A Case of NOIDA One of the major gaps while conducting primary research was that most of the documents published is on the Innovation Results of the firms in the Science & Technology Parks (STPs). Such papers usually discuss the role of different products and services of firms and companies working out of one big facility exponentially increased chances of collaboration, efficient use of resources and profit maximisation without compromising quality or suffering resource loss. While searching for more information on the internet, some links directed to page documents of ―modification‖ and ―expansion‖ of certain IT Hub in India. Those documents were signed under Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). So, as per facts, EIAs are conducted on proposed construction, functioning, expansion or modification of STPs not the emissions released over time. One of the other gaps identified outlines, energy consumption due to essential services and psychological effects of Working from Home cannot be standardised as parameters to quantify consumption patterns arising out of such factors shall always remain an unpredictable variable and would involve interdisciplinary subjects of psychology and sociology. An astonishing fact encountered during the primary survey found that for the commercial buildings, even sharing their annual electricity bill or even the bill generated during the extreme lockdown months is against their data sharing policies. More shocking was the same response received from two firms working within the study area with a clientele from the study area specialising in data collection and analyses of carbon emissions of different businesses. Over the last decade, energy crisis has become grimmer and more urgent to be addressed. Our need to expand infrastructure and other anthropogenic activities has led to consumption of non-renewable natural resources at an accelerated pace. The irony stands in that the technology we are hysterically utilising to grow and prosper is also consuming the limited energy the planet stores for all of us. The research tries to explore the technology-energy nexus through the possibilities of Working from Home while taking an account of GHG emissions with implementation of carbon credit and taxing policies. Exploring Potential of Working from Home (WFH) for the Reduction of GHG Emissions in Post Pandemic Scenario: A Case of NOIDA Narrowing it down after studying the available literature on the theme, the aim was delineated to exploring potential of working from home for reduction of GHG emissions in a post pandemic scenario for the city of NOIDA. To achieve the aim, the literature review helped to breakdown the process into different objectives that would support to gather evidence for the hypothesis of the research, that is, WFH all-round the year is a viable or feasible option to cut Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. To iterate, the objective was majorly to understand the nexus of WFH, GHG emissions and COVID-19 induced lockdown. Understanding the mechanism of each of the three rendered with the understanding of possible and existing dynamics of all combined. This primarily included the literature review, news reports, documents, etc. released by different government bodies, major firms and companies pertaining to their survey findings. Moving on to the second and crucial objective for the thesis research was ―to analyse the climatic profile, land cover and GHG emissions of the study area. The overview of the two has been interlinked to show their relationship with emissions. These analyses were a larger part of the research only for outlining the long-term impacts on the magnitude on emissions and the changes in the climatic profile of the city on a decadal scale. The third objective majorly focuses on the case-based statistics of emissions derived from the primary survey which was ―to assess the GHG emissions from STP buildings and related activities for before and during lockdown phases. The baseline data was already retrieved from the literature review and further through data collection while a survey was conducted online through a Google Form due to COVID-19 restrictions to seek out the energy consumptions related figures that could be linked to emissions. Both, the baseline statistics from before the lockdown and during the lockdown have been compared to substantiate the emissions magnitude. Further, a few scenarios have also been simulated to assess the same for the post pandemic phase. Exploring Potential of Working from Home (WFH) for the Reduction of GHG Emissions in Post Pandemic Scenario: A Case of NOIDA Based on the results of comparative data and simulated data, the fourth objective has been formulated ―to recommend strategies for environmental protection through trade-offs‖ since the energy use pattern, emissions linked to work related transportation, individual companies‘ policies and practices of sustainability varies. Certain proposals are put forward to create a cleaner and congestion free working environment for a rapidly urbanising and economically revolutionising city like NOIDA. The scope has been to develop an understanding of benefits of Working from Home on GHG emissions due to Science & Technology Parks (STPs) on a city‘s environmental profile with the help of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As for the limitations, the research problem does not include the transport related emissions of essential services and mainly focuses of emissions released due to IT sector activities and work-related trips. The air quality related data accuracy is limited around the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB)‘s live monitoring stations. The data collected during the study is confined to the availability of online data due to COVID-19 restrictions, serving as a model for a completely online or virtual primary data collection and survey methodology.