Energy Efficiency and Decarbonization Resulting from the Transition to Virtual Space

Viktoria Mannheim (), Zsuzsa Szalay, Renáta Bodnárné Sándor, Anita Terjék, Judit Lovasné Avató, Péter Sasvári, Zsolt István, Artúr Szilágyi, Orsolya Szalainé Kaczkó and Klára Tóthné Szita
Additional contact information
Viktoria Mannheim: Department of Engineering Management and Enterprise, Faculty of Engineering, University of Debrecen, Ótemető Str. 2-4, 4028 Debrecen, Hungary
Zsuzsa Szalay: Department of Construction Materials and Technologies, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3., 1111 Budapest, Hungary
Renáta Bodnárné Sándor: Bay Zoltán Nonprofit Ltd. for Applied Research, Iglói u. 2., 3519 Miskolc, Hungary
Anita Terjék: Technical Development Office, ÉMI Nonprofit Llc. Dózsa György út. 26., 2000 Szentendre, Hungary
Judit Lovasné Avató: Department of Methodology for Business Analysis, Institute of Quantitative Methodology, Budapest University of Economics and Business, Alkotmány Str. 9-11, 1054 Budapest, Hungary
Péter Sasvári: Institute of E-Public Service Development, Ludovika University of Public Service, Ludovika tér 2, 1083 Budapest, Hungary
Zsolt István: Research Development and Innovation Management Department, University of Miskolc, 3515 Miskolc-Egyetemváros, Hungary
Artúr Szilágyi: Department of Applied Sustainability, Széchenyi István University, Egyetem tér 1., 9026 Győr, Hungary
Orsolya Szalainé Kaczkó: Department of Energy Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3., 1111 Budapest, Hungary
Klára Tóthné Szita: Institute of World and Regional Economics, Faculty of Economics, University of Miskolc, 3515 Miskolc-Egyetemváros, Hungary

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 5, 1-22

Abstract: It is a serious challenge for humanity to find an appropriate response to stop the accelerating rise in global temperature caused by atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions. After a methodological review of the literature, online and in-person modelling of education, work, and conferences, and relying on the results of life-cycle studies, we sought the answer to what reasonable solutions are available for decarbonization and energy reduction. During the research, the organizational carbon footprint of a selected office, educational institution and conference, and then the carbon footprint created by a person in 1 h, were examined. The two-day online education significantly reduced the daily commute load in transport by 402 tons of CO 2 equivalent per year. Still, the energy demand of home learning subtracts 136 tons from this, so the real benefit was 266 tons above in an institution educating nearly 3500 students. In a workplace of 180 people, where 52% of employees commute, 90% teleworking saved 222 tons of carbon dioxide emissions in one month, taking into account the carbon footprint of working from home. In the case of conferences, the online solution reduces the carbon footprint due to the absence of travel and catering. Comparing the three areas, for the in-person case, the conference’s carbon footprint per person per hour was the highest (11.91 kg CO 2 eq.). This value for education was 1.15 kg CO 2 eq.; for work, it was the lowest with a value of 0.90 kg CO 2 eq. Moving to an online space resulted in the most significant savings for the conference (11.55 kg CO 2 eq.), followed by working (0.54 kg CO 2 eq.), and minor savings were achieved in hybrid education (0.13 kg CO 2 eq.). The sensitivity analysis highlighted the impact of transport on carbon footprint in all three cases. However, the life cycle cost analysis showed that moving to a virtual space reduces the life cycle cost of de-carbonization by 42%.

Keywords: energy efficiency; carbon footprint; life cycle assessment; in-person modelling; online modelling; life cycle costing; education; work; conference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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