Every year, more than 500 million domestic business trips are made in the U.S. alone, massively polluting the environment. Even though sustainable business is a high priority for most companies, the opportunities offered by business travel for sustainability are often overlooked. Tourism-review.com presents the best tips for sustainability.
TOP 5 TIPS FOR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS TRAVEL
Justin N. Froyd
- Mar 26, 2018
Smart Travel Planning
It is particularly important to ensure that as many appointments as possible are coordinated in a timely manner. This reduces unnecessary journeys together with the burden on the climate and environment. Furthermore, it should always be checked whether a personal meeting is really necessary. In individual cases, meetings can be replaced with video conferencing.
Green Hotels
Companies preferring sustainable business travel now have more options to book the so-called "green hotels" which usually carry an environmental seal. For example, Green Globe or ISO 14001. Unfortunately, certified companies are usually noticed only by a reference to their website, as many sustainable improvements are not necessarily visible to the guest. Often it turns out that many regional goods are offered on breakfast. Biohotels offer an overview of suitable conference and business hotels.
CO2 Compensation
In addition to responsible behavior, companies have the option of using their business travel agency to offset CO2 compensation for climate damage caused by emission avoidance elsewhere. When air travel cannot be avoided, it calculates the CO2 emissions for the route and the equivalent price. This is then invested in reducing CO2 elsewhere, such as renewable energy or energy efficient technologies.
Eco-friendly Car Hire
If you cannot avoid a rental car at the destination during your business travel, it is advisable to think about renting an electric car or a model with hybrid drive. For short distances, e-car sharing is also a good alternative. It is flexible and widely available in major cities.
Sustainable at Home and on the Road
Sustainable behavior starts at home. For frequent travelers it is advisable to turn off all electrical appliances, except for freezer and refrigerator, on departure so as to save power and money. Heating or thermostat should also be down regulated to a minimum. You should always travel with small luggage, because the weight of the luggage is also reflected in the CO2 emissions. Furthermore, it is recommended to use a reusable to-go cup or a plastic bottle to act sustainably on the go. In hotels, water consumption can be reduced by multiple use of towels and bed linen and the air conditioning should always be used in short intervals.
Related articles
I completely agree.
Regarding smart travel planning i'd like to add that most business trips originate in a meeting, whereby the organizer usually has no awareness of how much CO2 he causes through his invitation. Simply by smartly selecting the meeting place through platforms like klatch.convien.com you can avoid huge amounts of CO2.