While Covid-19 has proven to be a challenging time for us all during the past few months, the sanitary crisis did have some silver linings. Perhaps the one benefit that concerns us all wherever we may be is the environmental one. Many have spoken about 'mother nature' hitting the reset button, taking back what is rightfully hers while humans stepped off its territories to flee the pandemic. A few examples of such breaks in the clouds are the spotting of rare pink dolphins returning to Hong Kong's shore due to lowered ferry activities (not to be confused with the fake news about dolphins returning to Geneva's canals), as well as China's impressive carbon emission falling by around 25% over a four-week period, an amount equivalent to around 200 million tonnes of CO2.
Corporate Social Responsibility had already been a big topic before the pandemic, consumers around the world having become increasingly aware of what they consume, and how this affects the world around them. Environmental justice groups and eco-aware individuals have indeed been holding companies accountable for their participation in climate change through their processes and products (Break Free From Plastic naming Coca-Cola the world’s number one global plastic polluter, followed by Nestlé and Pepsico, for example). We expect the rise of such awareness in the period succeeding Covid-19, and with it a surge in CSR requirements and pressures from the international community for companies to becoming greener.
Air travel, for example, currently accounts for about 2.5 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, a number set to triple in the three coming decades according to the UN. Germanwatch illustrates it as such: "a single person taking one round trip flight from Germany to the Caribbean produces the same amount of damaging emissions as 80 average residents of Tanzania do in an entire year: around four metric tons of CO2".
Corporate travel is therefore one of the areas that companies must keep in mind when considering their CSR. The frequency of travel in a year, the nature of trips, their duration, and mileage all affect carbon footprint. That is why Fairjungle is introducing its free Carbon Footprint Calculator, a simple customizable tool which will allow you to track and account for your company's travel-related carbon emissions and push for more eco-friendly business travel.
Another helpful resource is our article on how to make your business travel more sustainable.
Our experts are here to help. If you'd like to discuss in more detail how to travel more responsibly, email us at contact@fairjungle.com and we can find a convenient time to chat.
Travel smarter
Fairjungle