Working for the planet: How to be sustainable as a business traveller

What’s important to you when you travel for work? Comfort, convenience, luxury? How about sustainability? Being climate conscious isn’t just about the products we buy, the food we eat, or how much we recycle. It extends into every area of our lives, and work is where we spend a huge portion of our time.

From small changes like using eTickets to big choices like opting for direct flights, we outline how to be a sustainable business traveller below. Read on to ensure your next trip is a greener one!

How To Be Sustainable as a Business Traveller

Choose sustainable travel options

If expenses are covered it can be easy to put less thought into how we choose to travel. But public transport isn’t just cheaper, it’s far more sustainable than driving. Most cities have excellent transport links and apps like Citymapper and Rome2Rio can help you navigate them. Just 1.8% of transport-related carbon emissions come from rail travel, as opposed to 71% from road users. As well as being more carbon efficient, trains are often faster and free up your time.

When flying, book direct flights if possible to considerably reduce emissions. A large part of a plane’s fuel consumption occurs during take-off and landing.

Use a carbon footprint calculator

If weighing up the greenest option for business travel seems overwhelming, make use of a carbon footprint calculator. Apps like Earth Hero use scientific tools to help users make sustainable choices. With Earth Hero, you’ll be part of a global community that shares helpful tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint.

By inputting your current actions you can see how you currently compare to other users before setting manageable goals. You can then learn how to offset your carbon footprint by implementing climate actions. Suggestions on the Earth Hero app are grouped by both impact and how easy they are to action.

Learn on the move

The hours spent on public transport instead of driving means more time to arm yourself with the information you need to live sustainably. With books, audiobooks and podcasts you can learn about the impact of climate change and how you can help tackle it. The BBC’s Climate Question podcast tackles the crisis from every conceivable angle. Each episode asks a specific question like ‘Could solar farms in space power Earth?’ And ‘Can tourism ever be good for the climate?’

For a deeper dive, essential reads on the climate crisis include This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein.

Adopt a minimalist mindset

Less clutter means less carbon, and tackling it is a mindset that could benefit every area of our lives. What we consume is responsible for up to 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It’s tempting to seek convenience or even luxury when travelling, but try to make greener choices where possible.

If you need to grab a sandwich find a local deli – they’ll likely wrap it in paper rather than plastic, and choose locally-sourced produce where possible. The option of fresh sheets and towels daily may seem like a treat, but our planet directly absorbs the cost of laundering them.

Pack lighter and smarter

Travelling light will not only make your journey less cumbersome – it’s also good for the planet. Lighter bags reduce the fuel consumption of the vehicles you travel in. A few simple, smart moves will allow you to reduce your luggage size and can reduce your carbon footprint in other ways too.

Invest in some reusable, travel-size toiletry bottles and top them up at home before you go. Carry your own reusable travel cutlery set and a reusable bottle. All this means less single use plastic on your travels. And don’t forget to check the weather so you know exactly what clothes to pack.

Shop and eat local

Local businesses support local jobs and local suppliers, and spending your money with them is sustainable for the planet as well as the local economy. The carbon footprint of independent local businesses is often smaller as local suppliers travel fewer miles to deliver their goods.

Small businesses also tend to generate less waste than large corporations. They often adopt good environmental practices like recycling, composting, and using eco-friendly and biodegradable packaging. They are also more likely to operate from existing buildings in towns and cities. Large chains often use purpose-made buildings where construction has a heavy carbon footprint and impacts wildlife.

Go paper free

It might be convenient to print off your business travel documents in the office, but consider whether you actually need to. Paper accounts for around 26% of total waste at landfills. Paper production also contributes to deforestation and uses enormous amounts of energy. The chemicals in printer ink can be harmful to the environment and the plastic casing found in some ink and toner cartridges is often non-biodegradable.

From busses to trains and planes, eTickets are the more environmentally friendly option to paper tickets. The same goes for your itinerary and your hotel booking.