No one could have anticipated what the world would look like on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Truthfully, it feels quite surreal to commemorate the occasion in the midst of a global crisis. While our new “normal” is not permanent, our current situation can serve as a reminder: we are more adaptable than we think.
These unique circumstances got us thinking about how our habits and behaviors have changed significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in huge shifts in our energy emissions.
But how do we quantify this impact? DIALOG conducts an annual inventory of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from our studio operations and business travel. Using the firm’s most recent data, we estimated CO2e savings resulting from Work From Home (WFH) policies in the provinces where our studios are located.
The numbers speak for themselves…57% reduction in our weekly impact, and 51.04 tonnes of CO2 savings. To put that into context, one tonne of CO2 is roughly the average emission of one passenger on a return-flight from Paris to New York. That’s huge!
This Earth Day, it’s worth asking: as we start to ponder a life after COVID-19, how can we move forward in a more sustainable way? What can we restructure in our day-to-day lives?