In the age of globalisation, despite being more connected than ever by technology, flying is an almost ubiquitous part of modern life. Currently 2% of all global greenhouse gas emissions are associated with aviation. If air travel was a country, it would be a top 10 global emitter – about the same size as Germany. Where are all these flights coming from?
For many organisations today, flying is almost fundamental to doing business – and it shows: for most professional service companies, business travel represents over 80% of corporate emissions. But there are steps that you can take to reduce your organisation's air travel and slash this growing carbon footprint.
The most obvious tip for avoiding emissions from flying is unsurprisingly to not fly in the first place. By embracing the range of digital conferencing solutions available today, organisations can save on valuable travel time – and of course, reduce emissions.
Replacing as many interstate and overseas meetings with video and phone conferencing is the first place to start in reducing emissions from air travel.
After avoiding flights, the next best thing an organisation can do is to reduce the amount of business travel within the company. By selectively sending fewer staff away from home for meetings and conferences, organisations can reduce air travel-related emissions.
Sometimes, overseas business trips are unavoidable. In cases where air travel is an absolute necessity, organisations can choose to compensate for flight-related emissions by investing in high quality carbon offsetting projects.
South Pole has a huge range of international and Australian emission reduction projects to choose from. These projects not only generate carbon offsets – they also contribute to sustainable development in the communities and countries where they operate. For more information on how carbon offsetting works, watch our video:"What are carbon credits?".
South Pole's Kariba project in Zimbabwe is an emission reduction project that protects 785,000 hectares from deforestation and land degradation, while supporting the independence and wellbeing of local communities.
One example of this is our EcoAustralia™ carbon credits; for every one tonne of carbon equivalent offset through EcoAustralia™, 1.5 square metres of native Australian vegetation is permanently protected. The carbon offset components of EcoAustralia™ are sourced from emission reduction projects registered under the Gold Standard; an internationally recognised standard of projects, where co-benefits are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as 'No Poverty', 'Gender Equality' and 'Quality Education'.
Image credit: United Nations
Tramada and South Pole help you take Climate Action with Carbon Offsetting for Business Flights
To make things even easier, South Pole is now working with Tramada, the leading data and solutions management provider for the travel industry, to give corporate travel management companies easy access to their clients' business travel-related greenhouse gas emissions. Over 80% of Australia's corporate travel management agencies use Tramada.
With the click of a button, you can see air travel-related emissions, and even track how your organisation's emissions have changed over time, across airlines and between destinations.
Offsetting emissions for a return flight from Sydney to London will cost around A $60 when using South Pole's EcoAustralia™ credits – this equates to a 4% premium on the cost of an economy airfare, which is not much when it comes to addressing one of the largest contributors to corporate emissions.
Today, growing numbers of businesses are recognising the importance of reducing global emissions, encouraging low-carbon growth and addressing climate change – and scrutinising business travel is one thing responsible organisations can do to take their sustainability strategies to new heights.
Interested in flying responsibly with your organisation today? Ask your corporate travel manager about using Tramada to access the 'South Pole Emissions Report'. You can email your report to us for a free quality check of your data.
