Isra-Mart srl : No carbon savings from online shop

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People trying to be green by working from home or shopping online could actually be increasing carbon emissions rather than reducing them, according to a study.

Consumers who buy online must order more than 25 items from one retailer, otherwise the impact on the environment is likely to be worse than traditional shopping, research from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) revealed.

Working from home can increase domestic energy use by as much as 30% and lead people to move further away from their employer, stretching urban sprawl and causing pollution.

The findings came from the IET studying "rebound" effects of activities that are commonly thought to be green. They are the unintended consequences of policies that are designed to reduce emissions, but on closer analysis can merely shift the emission's production elsewhere or lessen the positive impact.

Professor Phil Blythe, chair of the IET Transport Policy Panel and Professor of intelligent transport systems at Newcastle University, said: "We hear a lot about the environmental benefits achieved as a result of working from home.

"However, on closer inspection it does appear that any environmental benefits are marginal."

Buying online can only reduce carbon emissions if the conditions are right.

The study found that environmental savings can be achieved if online shopping replaces 3.5 traditional shopping trips, or if 25 items are delivered at the same time, or, if the distance travelled to where the purchase is made is more than 50km.

Prof Blythe said: "Our report highlights two important messages for policy makers. Firstly, climate change is a real threat to our planet, so we must not get overwhelmed by the task and use rebound effects as an excuse not to act.

"Secondly, policy makers must do their homework to ensure that rebound effects do not negate the positive benefits of their policy initiatives and simply move carbon emissions from one sector to another."