In 2011, Simon Arcel and three other co-founders of the then fledgling British environmental consultancy Tyler Grange decided to give all of their employees one day off per month on the condition that they volunteer outside the company.

They found that many of their new hires were already volunteering their free time for wildlife conservation organizations. “Our environmentalists have always enjoyed being environmentalists,” Arcel describes.

Last year, Tyler Grange took what some would call a much more drastic step in favor of the well-being of its employees by introducing a four-day work day for all employees.

The company took part in the world’s largest “four-day week” experiment, which took place in the UK from June to December 2022. The purpose of the trial was to assess whether companies could maintain productivity with a reduced working day – and most importantly, without lowering workers’ wages.

And the climate?

Tyler Grange’s managers and staff were enthusiastic about the changes and their results showed that daily productivity increased by 22%. But Arcel wanted to evaluate one more thing: the impact of a four-day work week on a company’s carbon footprint. And the four-day work week was “remarkably good for that too,” he told the BBC.

“On average, we recorded a reduction in the number of kilometers traveled by a car by 21%,” he notes with a smile. “Tyler Grange” also stopped meetings and trips that were deemed unnecessary.

Testing around the world

The debate around the four-day work week is gaining momentum around the world, BBC commented. The non-profit organization 4 Day Week Global, which coordinated the trials in the UK, also conducted pilot trials in the US and Ireland, while the Icelandic state and companies in Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Japan and New Zealand also tried to shorten the working week. .

But the UK trial was the largest to date, involving more than 60 businesses and organisations. The results were published on February 21, and some companies are starting to openly articulate what earlier studies have indicated: A shorter work week could help the planet.

Juliet Shore, an economist and sociologist at Boston College and lead researcher at 4 Day Week Global, who has participated in both the UK and US experiments, argues that a shorter workweek is an important factor in reducing carbon emissions. .

“While the climate benefit is the most difficult metric to quantify, many studies show that over time, as countries reduce working hours, carbon emissions decrease,” he says. According to a study co-authored with Shor in 2012, a 10% reduction in working hours is associated with an 8.6% reduction in carbon footprint.

Less hours on the road

One of the most important factors influencing the climate benefits of a four-day work week is the reduction in required commuting. UK study data shows a 10% reduction in testing time, from 3.5 to 3.15 hours per week (data from companies that recorded travel time). In the 2022 experiment in the US, the reduction was even greater, from 3.56 to 2.59 hours per week (a 27% drop).