Who gives a monkeys about business travel emissions? We do, and here’s why

Pressure for businesses to act on the climate crisis is now coming from employees, clients, customers, investors and the government. And it’s accelerating.

Regular travel might be an essential part of your business, but that doesn’t mean you can’t reduce the emissions of your trips.

In fact, addressing your business travel emissions gives you the rare opportunity to involve your team in a visible, immediate carbon impact.

Reducing the footprint of business travel is a quick win with massive cumulative impact

Often, the biggest causes of emissions are the hardest to tackle and take numerous years to reduce.

For example, influencing your supplier to change their raw materials may result in a 10,000kg per year CO2 reduction, but it can take 15 years to implement.

On the other hand, choosing to book the most sustainable hotel is an easy decision with an immediate impact. 100 employees spending just 4 nights away from home per year will save 15,000kg of CO2 per year.

By the time your supplier has changed their raw materials, you will have reduced the carbon footprint of your hotel bookings by 225,000kg.

That’s how quick wins can make a tangible difference now, with massive cumulative impact.

One of the largest causes of emissions for many companies is the raw materials they use, but only 6% of companies actually have full visibility of their supply chain. It’s no surprise that trying to reduce these emissions often takes many years.

It lets your employees feel involved

Most sustainability action happens through strategic decisions taken in a dark room that none of your employees ever see or feel. Changing an energy supplier just isn’t that interesting!

But everyone plays a part in business travel, which gives you the opportunity to engage your team in your sustainability journey.

With a growing majority of people demanding sustainability action from their employers, this is the best way for everyone to make a difference.

Not reducing your business travel is a seriously bad look

The wider public often don’t realise that travelling for business can be essential, which risks making your company appear completely indifferent to the climate crisis.

Taking proactive action to reduce the emissions of your business travel today will mitigate this and more.

Instead of facing the bad PR from continuing to cause business travel emissions, you’ll prove your business to be proactive when it comes to sustainability action.

So, dear anonymous emailer, that’s why we give a monkeys.