Taking the stairs instead of the elevator is not only good for your physical and mental health. It’s also better for the planet.

When you use your own energy to climb the stairs, you save both electricity and CO₂ emissions that would otherwise be consumed by the elevator.

Multiple factors determine how much energy an elevator uses: the energy efficiency of the elevator itself, the number of daily trips, the weight of the passengers, and the height of the building.

But a study from 2022 estimates that an elevator in a high-rise commercial office building consumes 52.52 kWh of electricity daily, based on 504 trips per day. So how much is that per person? Let’s crunch the numbers.

The climate cost of taking the elevator
A typical office worker might use the elevator four times a day: arriving in the morning, going out for lunch, returning from lunch, and leaving work in the afternoon.

If the elevator uses 52.52 kWh daily, then each trip consumes about 0.1042 kWh. Four trips a day adds up to 0.4184 kWh per person. Given an average carbon intensity of 0.4 kg CO₂ per kWh (based on the electricity grid), this results in approximately 0.167 kg of CO₂ per person per day. 

It might not seem like much, but small actions add up. Last year, 68,000 people participated in #NoElevatorsDay, and by taking the stairs instead of the elevator for just one day, they collectively avoided around 11.36 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

That’s equivalent to:

• Driving a petrol car 1.4 times around the Earth
• Taking 11 round-trip flights from London to New York
• Streaming Netflix in HD non-stop for over 14 years

Get your office moving on #NoElevatorsDay
As the numbers show, choosing the stairs over the elevator can make a meaningful difference for the climate. And the benefits don’t stop there. It also improves physical fitness and mental well-being.

So get your office moving by participating in #NoElevatorsDay on 30 April. It’s a simple, powerful way to take action. For the benefit of both people and the planet.

You can register an event on our website and encourage others by sharing your participation on social media using the hashtags #NoElevatorsDay and #UseTheStairs.