Note: before you read, try our employee survey to measure your own commuting emissions!

Introduction

For businesses looking to measure and reduce their carbon footprint, employee commuting emissions can be a difficult area to manage. While companies might focus on energy-efficient offices or supply chain sustainability, how employees get to and from work can be a significant source of emissions.

For some firms, these emissions are negligible. A fully remote company? No commuting emissions at all. A city-centre office with employees who mostly walk, cycle or take the train? Also fairly low.

But for organisations where driving to work is the norm, these emissions can be a major factor in the company’s overall footprint, and measuring them iskey to an accurate, compliant footprint.

What Are Employee Commuting Emissions?

Employee commuting emissions refer to the greenhouse gas emissions produced by employees travelling to and from work. These emissions come from:

• Private vehicles – Petrol and diesel cars are the biggest culprits, emitting CO₂ and other pollutants.
• Public transport – Buses and trains also contribute, though their per-passenger emissions tend to be lower than cars.

While remote work and "active travel" like walking and cycling remove commuting emissions entirely, the majority of UK employees still commute into work, at least some of the time, using powered transport. The question is: how much does it all add up?

The Key Drivers of Commuting Emissions

The impact of commuting emissions depends on several factors:

1. Mode of transport – Petrol and diesel cars have the highest emissions per mile, while electric vehicles (EVs) significantly reduce impact. Public transport sits somewhere in between, with trains usually more efficient than buses.
2. Days in the office – The fewer days employees travel in, the lower the emissions. Hybrid working automatically reduces a business’s commuting footprint.
3. Distance from the office – The longer the commute, the greater the emissions—especially if employees rely on cars.
4. Carpooling – A single-occupancy car is the worst-case scenario. Sharing lifts spreads emissions across more people, making a noticeable difference.

For companies based in areas with strong public transport links, many employees may already commute with relatively low emissions. But for businesses where driving is the norm, emissions per employee can be substantial.

How Important Are Commuting Emissions to a Company’s Footprint?

It depends on the nature of the business and its location.

• Remote-only companies – No commuting emissions, simple as that. (Although they'll have higher homeworking emissions!).
• City-centre offices – Where employees mostly walk, cycle, or use public transport, emissions tend to be low.
• Suburban and rural offices – If most employees drive, commuting could be one of the biggest contributors to the company’s carbon footprint.

For businesses in the last category, reducing commuting emissions should be a priority—not just for sustainability reporting, but for cost savings, employee wellbeing, and future-proofing against potential regulations or carbon taxes.

How to Create an Employee Commuting Survey

There are two main ways to estimate commuting emissions:

• Using averages for the country or region – This gives a rough idea but doesn’t account for specific employee behaviour.
• Employee surveys – The most accurate way is to ask employees directly about their commute.

A well-designed survey should ask employees about:

• Their primary mode of transport (car, train, bus, bike, etc.).
• The type of vehicle they use (petrol, diesel, hybrid, electric).
• Their commuting distance.
• Whether they carpool.
• How many days per week they commute.

Once collected, this data allows you to calculate a much more precise commuting footprint. Realistically, not everyone will respond to a survey. But if at least 60-70% of employees participate, you can extrapolate the rest based on available data.

To simplify the process, companies use our employee emissions survey. This tool helps businesses accurately measure emissions from commuting, homeworking, and business travel, providing valuable insights at the employee level. All you need to do is send the link to employees, and we do the rest.

How to Reduce Commuting Emissions

Influencing how employees commute isn’t always easy, but there are practical steps businesses can take:

1. Encourage carpooling – Creating a workplace carpool scheme can significantly reduce emissions per employee.
2. Support EV uptake – Implementing a salary sacrifice scheme for electric vehicles (such as The Electric Car Scheme) makes EVs more accessible for employees.
3. Promote cycling and walking – Cycle-to-work schemes and improved facilities (such as bike storage and showers) can encourage employees to switch to active travel.
4. Choose office locations with good public transport links – For businesses planning a move, accessibility by train or bus should be a key factor.

None of these measures will eliminate commuting emissions overnight, but they all contribute to long-term reductions.

Is It Better To Work From Home Or Commute?

Shifting to a remote working model can be better for the planet - but it depends!

Homeworking generates emissions too - from lighting, heating and IT equipment - and these count to your business's footprint. In fact, it's a lot less efficient to power 100 homes than a single office space!

On average, in the UK, a fully-remote worker generates 0.6 tonnes of CO2e. That's roughly equivalent to commuting 6-7 miles in the average car every workday.

To get the right answer, you need to look at the circumstances of each individual employee:

• If they drive more than 6-7 miles, or take an hour train, then they're probably better staying at home.
• If they walk, cycle or take a short bus, tram or car ride, then it's probably better for them to commute in.

This is another reason why conducting an employee survey, and analysing responses at the employee level, is important.

The Bigger Picture: Engaging Employees on Sustainability

Measuring and reducing commuting emissions isn’t just a data exercise - it’s an opportunity to engage employees on sustainability more broadly.

Many employees are already interested in climate action, but they might not have thought about how their daily commute fits into the bigger picture.

Seedling’s survey, for example, also includes homeworking emissions and links to climate action resources, helping employees learn more about sustainability beyond their work commute.

Ready to Get Started?

If you’re looking to measure and reduce your company’s commuting emissions, start by collecting data. You can try our employee survey here, or sign up for our free plan which offers a limited number of employee survey responses, making it easy to get going. The sooner you have the numbers, the sooner you can start making meaningful changes.

‍