Methodological Framework for the Comparative Evaluation of the Emission Footprint of Virtual Remote Work and Travel by Autonomous Electric Vehicle to the Workplace

The purpose and idea of the paper is to define a methodological framework for the comparative assessment of the carbon footprint of virtual remote work and the footprint of an autonomous electric vehicle for physical mobility to the workplace. The methodology is based on the remote work service, as a typical representative of information and communication solutions with potentially significant opportunities to reduce emissions in the area of physical mobility. On the other hand, autonomous electric vehicles cause less greenhouse gas emissions than diesel cars, even when powered by engines with lower carbon emissions, but we still don’t know if it is more environmentally friendly to use digital teleworking services instead of electric autonomous vehicles for trips to the workplace. In the proposed methodology, special attention will be focused on the analysis of emission variables for existing consumption technologies of autonomous vehicles. The originality and value of the work consists in the fact that the results of the work offer an original comparative procedure for determining the value of emission footprint of the physical mobility of an autonomous electric vehicle in relation to the footprint of the virtual mobility of telecommuting.