India’s IT titans, Infosys, have launched a very unique internal program that has many employees reaching for their electricity bills. The company asked that its remote and hybrid employees divulge detailed statistics about what electricity they use in their home in a recent report. Others may find the request invasive, but it is very much a strategic step, guided by the company’s aggressive Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) pledges and its plan to be carbon neutral.
The Reason: Addressing "Hidden" Emissions
As hybrid work increasingly works “as an essential aspect” of operations, the company’s carbon footprint no longer fits narrowly within its sprawling, solar-charged campuses, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jayesh Sanghrajka told employees in an email. “Electricity consumed while working from home also contributes toward Infosys' greenhouse gas (GHG) emission footprint,” said the CFO. Through capturing such data, Infosys seeks to:
Improve the Reporting of Emissions: Normally only Scope 1 and Scope 2 (direct and indirect energy expended on a site) emissions were reported by companies. WFH energy falls under Scope 3, which is notoriously difficult to accurately calculate without primary data.
Revise Sustainability Models: Infosys first estimated WFH emissions during the pandemic (2020-21). This new survey revalidates those assumptions to confirm that the 2024-25 ESG reports are as accurate as they possibly could be.
Deliver Targeted Interventions: The info will help the company recommend energy-saving home configurations, with the potential to decrease its 300,000-strong workforce's overall carbon footprint.
What data is the dataset being collected?
It’s not just the total bill amount. It explores the details of an employee's home setup, including:
- Preliminary data on Air Conditioners (ACs), heaters, and fans usage
- Wattage of the lighting in home offices.
- And the extent to which the household also uses renewable energy sources such as solar panels.
- Innovative energy-saving ideas implemented at home implemented successfully by employees.
Sustainability: A New Intrepid Obsession for Infosys
Infosys holds a standing as a worldwide force in corporate sustainability. The company attained carbon neutrality in 2020, a full 30 years earlier than the Paris Agreement set. At present, some 77% of its electricity requirement for India operations comes from renewable sources, backed by its own 60 MW captive solar stations.
But the move to a hybrid model where employees must stay at work for at least 10 days a month—decentralizes energy consumption. Infosys claims that in order to truly be "climate positive" by 2030, it must consider every watt that goes into powering a laptop or router, regardless of whether that electricity is used in a LEED-certified office or a suburban living room.
Employee Awareness and Hybrid Compliancy
Beyond what's written on the data, sections of the workforce have commented that the survey gives their employers a "push" to conserve energy. This strategy is in line with intensifying hybrid work tracking, with from March 10, 2025, the company made system interventions to guarantee the 10-day per-month office obligation.
Infosys's embedding home energy data within the company's corporate report illustrates that "work from home" is not synonymous with "off the sustainability grid."
