Travel policy

Air travel is the largest contributor to my greenhouse gas emissions. I’m committed to reducing this impact. So, for all business travel:

  1. I fly only as a last resort, where no realistic alternative – such as videoconferencing or train travel – exists.

  2. All flights must be 100% carbon offset. Offsetting is undoubtedly imperfect, but nevertheless where flying is required, offsetting is a reasonable short-term measure to mitigate the impacts of air travel. I use AirCare, who invest only in stringent Gold Standard VER projects. As a guideline, offsetting an economy-class return between London & San Francisco costs ~$80. I can add the offset to invoices, or you can buy it on my behalf, but I will not fly without offsets.

  3. With the above points in mind, I prefer airlines in the Oneworld alliance, such as British Airways, American, and Qatar.

Progress report, 2021

These projections predate Covid-19, which obviously sharply reduced my flying in 2020/1. I will of course keep pushing to reduce my footprint in 2022 and beyond.

In 2020, I committed to halve my business carbon footprint from flying, so set an annual carbon budget just below 50% of 2019 emissions. This budget ignores carbon offsets and lower-carbon transport options. All potential flights are assessed using CO₂ Calculator and weighed up against business benefit, remaining budget, and any climate upside of the visit, such as spreading climate messages to large or powerful audiences.

I’ve had to make some significant changes to meet this commitment.

  • I increasingly decline business that requires flying, particularly one-off speaking invitations, and offer more remote delivery.

  • Trips are less frequent but longer, involving multiple-destination loops that avoid the wasteful footprint of repeated visits. This means more travel admin – domestic travel, hotel switching, calendar management, visa applications – and clustering availability makes sales and onsite scheduling a lot harder. However, combining trips leaves more uninterrupted time for remote work and new learning.

  • I fly in economy class by default, with only rare exceptions. The footprint for premium classes is multiples higher.

  • Train is my default travel option for shorter trips, particularly in Europe. It’s more expensive, and slower, so sometimes exceptions are necessary.

Although individuals are hardly to blame for a global economic system that embraces ecological degradation, I nevertheless believe leading by example engenders positive change. So far, not one client has refused to pay for an offset; I urge other consultants and public speakers to adopt this policy too.

I’d like to go lower still. This will mean further changes in my business, so it won’t happen overnight. But for now, I hope these steps inspire other small businesses and frequent travellers to take similar steps.