The sharing economy is a new trend that promotes sustainability and resource efficiency by better using idle assets. However, its actual effects on sustainability are debated. To investigate its impact on energy outcomes, we conduct a quantitative model-based study focusing on the tertiary (i.e. service) sector. The sharing economy encompasses a wide range of heterogeneous concepts. In this respect, this report focuses specifically on the impact of new working patterns in the tertiary sector, in particular shared offices, co-working spaces and teleworking, on energy consumption. It is worth noting that this study does not consider the impact of these changing working patterns in other sectors, such as in the residential sector through home offices, or in the transport sector through changing mobility patterns.
Changes in the diffusion of such labour patterns have a twofold effect on energy consumption. Firstly, the usage of information and communication technologies (ICT) and the resulting energy demand will likely increase due to emerging forms of digital communication and collaboration tools such as data sharing and online meetings. Secondly, the shift of work from conventional offices to remote teleworking presumably decreases the floor area need in the tertiary sector. This effect might be offset by a potentially increase, in the long run, in the floor area demand for co-working spaces and in private homes. While effects in the residential sector are not subject of this study, we analyse the impact on the tertiary sector in-depth. (For a cross-sectoral analysis see newTRENDs WP3, “Transition Pathways for New Societal Trends and Methodological Improvement in Modeling such Trends”). Moreover, the interconnection between new labour patterns and the mobility sector, such as a reduction in commuting rides due to remote work, is a key topic discussed in the scientific journal paper on modeling the sharing economy and new trends in transport and the tertiary sector (Deliverable 7.3).
The modelling and assumptions in this focus study are based on an extensive literature review of the new trends in the sharing economy. We then expand the FORECAST modelling framework to incorporate the effects of these trends, notably on the specific floor area, the share of employees and the ICT demand.
The results of our analysis incorporate a sensitivity analysis and scenario-based analysis of the aggregated effects of ICT and teleworking. Specifically, the study examines the increased ICT demand in the tertiary sector and the impact of teleworking on the same sector.
The ICT demand is modelled through the proxy of the installed electric power of the ICT infrastructure. The different scenarios of the sensitivity analysis calculate the energy consumption for an increase of the installed power by factors between 2.5 and 10 compared to the installed power of 2020. The increase of
installed power does not equal a proportional increase of the usage of ICT services as the energy consumption is decoupled from the computed power due to technology developments. The analysis shows that, in 2050, the ICT-related energy consumption in the EU27 could reach on average a level of 35% of the other electric demands in the tertiary sector in the extreme scenario. Two ICT scenarios (increase by factor 5 and factor 10 until 2050 compared to 2020) are selected for further analysis of teleworking.
The main results show that the effects of teleworking are in general positive when the boundaries are set to the tertiary sector, as the energy savings of heating, cooling and lighting applications are higher than the additional ICT demand. With a high share of teleworking, the total final energy consumption of the EU27 average in the tertiary sector is 6% to 12 % lower compared to a low share in the scenario with moderate development of ICT usage. In the scenarios with high ICT usage, the absolute values of energy savings from teleworking are identical, but the total energy consumption is higher due to the increased ICT activity. In these high-ICT scenarios, the final energy savings in 2050 is slightly lower, it amounts to around 6% to 11% (compared to 2021).
While our study provides valuable insights into the impacts of the shared economy in the tertiary sectors and its teleworking and shared office aspects, there is a need for further research to fully understand the economy-wide net effects. Specifically, it is important to estimate the effects on residential floor area and final energy demand resulting from the shift of labour from offices to the residential sector as well as the impacts on mobility patterns.
