Low-impact travel tips for the business class
There’s no doubt about it – business travel is big business.
According to the 2004 Business and Convention Travelers Report, business travel comprised only 18 percent of total travel volume in 2003, yet 38 million business travelers generated nearly 211 million person-trips, equating to 31 percent, or $153 billion, of all domestic travel spending. In 2004, 50 percent of guest rooms were reserved by business travelers, helping the lodging industry gross $16.7 billion in pretax profits, according to the American Hote and Lodging Association. This is good news for the travel and tourism industry, considered by many to be the largest industry in the world. But it can be bad news from an environmental standpoint.
In fact, travel is a main culprit of climate change, accounting for almost one-third of worldwide climate damaging emissions, reports the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. And the fastest-growing contributor of global climate change is air travel. The average American who takes one or two trips abroad annually emits 19,841 pounds, or almost 10 tons, of carbon dioxide (CO2). If everyone in the world emitted as much CO2, it’s estimated that we’d need two-and-a-half planets to support us.
Also consider the resources used and waste generated by hotels, conferences and business meetings, as well as the CO2 generated by rental cars, shuttle busses, taxis, and other forms of transportation. Add it all up, and it becomes clear that businesses are in a unique position to help increase economic and community well-being without degrading the natural environment.
Progressive companies are starting to demand “greener” business travel in an effort to address their environmental, socio-cultural and economic impacts. A recent Association of Corporate Travel Executives survey asked managers whether their companies were measuring social responsibility in the form of published, quantifiable data. Nearly two-thirds of the respondent said yes, and 48 percent of those who said yes also said this was affecting their relationships with travel-related suppliers. In addition, 29 percent said they had either switched to suppliers who offer green business travel options or anticipated that they would switch.
Travel agencies that offset their clients’ greenhouse gas emissions, rental car agencies that offer hybrid vehicles, conference centers that host green meetings, and hotels that use renewable-sourced energy, reduce waste, and utilize fair employment practices are becoming primary considerations when companies negotiate business travel deals with travel suppliers.
Progressive companies are also offering employees incentives to carpool, bike or use public transportation to get to work. The use of renewable energy as well as environmentally preferred and locally produced products and services is also on the increase. Many companies have learned that when they employ sustainable business practices, the positive public relations, productivity gains and other benefits often outweigh any cost differences. Despite all of the good things happening within the corporate sector, it can still be challenging for business travelers to find the best travel options. We’ve compiled a list of quality resources to help businesses green their travel:
Air and land travel
The MyClimate program allows business travelers to calculate and neutralize the greenhouse gas “costs” associated with their flights (and other company operations) for as little as $15 per flight. The money is invested in climate-friendly renewable energy and energyefficiency projects that meet the Kyoto protocol and reduce an equivalent amount of emissions elsewhere.
Car rentals
Finding car rental companies that offer natural gas, electric and hybrid-electric rentals can be difficult. Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Avis don’t offer them at all in the United States, and Budget and Hertz only offer them at select locations. Currently, the best bets are EV Rental Cars and Bio-Beetle, which offer rentals in Arizona, California and Hawaii. They are the only environmentally focused vehicle rental companies in the United States. For other locations, consider next-best options. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers a list of such options at www.epa.gov/greenvehicles.
Lodging
From installing energy-efficient lighting and new heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems to featuring only locally sourced and organic ingredients on restaurant menus, many accommodations are actively pursuing sustainability. Green Seal and the Green Hotels Association encourage, promote and support this innovation in the lodging industry, and their Web sites list green hotels on a state-by-state basis. Can’t find a green hotel? The Green Hotel Initiative Guest Request Card is designed to help business travelers request environmentally responsible services upon checking into a hotel, as well as the opportunity to provide feedback when checking out. The card is available at www.ceres.org/industryprograms/ghi.php.
Meetings and conferences
Green meetings and conferences focus on reducing negative impacts throughout all stages of implementation, including using only paperless technology, avoiding the use of any disposables, serving water in bulk containers or only upon request, and purchasing locally produced products and services, as well as those that have a reduced environmental impact. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers corporate event planners and suppliers a multitude of resources and information to help organize green meetings, including an easy-to-follow even planning checklist (www.resourcesaver.org/file/toolmanager/O16F2392.pdf). Need help planning a meeting? Contact the Green Meetings Industry Council.
Brian T. Mullis is president of Sustainable Travel International (www.sustainabletravelinternational.org), a nonprofit that provides programs to help travelers and travel-related companies protect the environmental, socio-cultural and economic needs of the places they visit.