Expert Reveals the UK Regions That Produce The most CO2 on Daily Office Commutes

A recent study, conducted by Best Buy Office Chairs, has revealed that commuters living in Wales could be producing 4.87 tonnes of CO2 on their daily office commutes, if they are forced to return to the office 5 days a week.

Those living in Wales have an average daily commute time of 50.8 minutes, and therefore release an average of 0.021 tonnes of CO2 per day, based on a 36 mpg mid-range petrol car.

For a 5 day work week, this equates to 0.105 tonnes of CO2 per week and 4.87 tonnes of CO2 per 232 day working year (The average number of working days after taking away annual leave).

With two in five companies now back in the office full-time and more expected to follow, I believe this to be of importance to your readers at West Wales Chronicle living in Wales.

To find these shocking numbers, the brand analysed data from TUC. Please see the full article with additional data for every UK region here.

The location with the longest commute time and more CO2 production than anywhere else is London, with 12+ days spent commuting and 7.66 tonnes of CO2 produced per person, per year. This is followed by the south east of England, who would spend over 10 days a year travelling to and from work, producing a total of 6.03 tonnes of CO2 per person.

In comparison to these high numbers in the south east of England, this region would produce 1.16 tonnes less CO2, however would still be 4.96% higher than the amount of CO2 produced in the north east, which has the lowest rates.

BestBuy Office Chairs’ research also found that considerable amounts of CO2 could be reduced if staff returned to the office for only 2  days a week, instead of 5. For example, {Region 1} commuters would reduce their weekly CO2 production by {CO2 Reduced} by switching to 3 in office days instead of 5.

James Mackie, a spokesperson from Best Buy Office Chairs, has commented on the data:

“Working in an office environment has been shown to boost productivity, improve collaboration between team members and overall improve the performance of a business. However, it also significantly increases the number of commutes back and forth for staff members.

If every office worker in the UK moved back to in-office working it would have catastrophic effects on the environment. The CO2 produced on these commutes is minimal when considered daily, however, this can easily accumulate over a yearly, or even weekly, period. Commuting just two to three days per week, rather than five, would significantly reduce the amount of CO2 produced whilst also ensuring businesses are achieving the most out of their staff”.