The carbon footprint of remote workers' travel behavior: evidence from digital phenotyping data

Evidence on the travel-related environmental impact of remote work is mixed and inconclusive, partly due to limitations in measuring workers’ mobility. Existing studies rely heavily on self-reported data, which increases exposure to measurement errors and response bias and risks overlooking relevant trips taken on homeworking days. This study leverages a digital phenotyping approach, estimating remote workers' average carbon footprint based on their observed travel behavior. Using smartphone GPS data, we track movement trajectories and estimate CO2 emissions for a sample of Italian workers. We find that working from home is associated with shorter distances traveled and reduces daily CO2 emissions by two-thirds. Carbon savings during typical commuting hours are not offset during non-commuting windows, when additional reductions are observed. Conversely, working from alternative remote locations provides no benefit. Emission savings are achieved especially by long-distance travelers on homeworking days, suggesting heterogeneity across workers in the outcomes observed. From a policy perspective, the proposed methodology has strong potential to support companies in calculating Scope 3 emissions (Category 7), thereby better assessing (and, if necessary, correcting) employees' carbon footprints. The method also supports an objective assessment of remote workers' actual mobility demand in a context where smart working is identified as a possible solution to shield workers from price shocks in fossil fuel markets. We find that homeworkers travel shorter distances using non-emissive modes, suggesting more sedentary behavior and highlighting the need for flexible work arrangements to be accompanied by initiatives that promote an active lifestyle, such as active-mobility incentive programs.