Business Travel
Organisations should consider business travel as well commuter travel when developing their Travel Plans. Organisations that encourage alternatives to travel and more sustainable travel choices for business trips will benefit from increases in productivity, reduced travel costs and reduced emissions.
Encouraging better business travel decisions
Encourage staff to think about their business travel needs carefully. Ask them to consider:
- Does the journey need to be made at all?
- How much will it cost (considering all costs such as loss of productive time)?
- What will be the carbon emissions of the journey?
To assist with making a decision, it may help to use the flow chart below. You can download the diagram and email it to your staff and colleagues:
Reducing the need to travel using technology
Modern communications technology offers the opportunity to avoid the need to travel to meetings altogether. Users can talk through ideas in real time using audio and video links, give live presentations and exchange files and notes.
Simple systems cost little. More comprehensive systems allow large groups in multiple locations to work together and can be highly cost-effective when compared to the cost of travel and staff time lost while driving.
Find out more about Teleconferencing »
Using Public Transport for business trips
By encouraging the use of public transport, organisations can save money on fuel costs and staff can work or rest en-route.
Encourage the use of public transport on business by:
- ensuring meeting locations and times are compatible with bus and train connections
- providing employees with public transport information
- not paying mileage allowances where alternatives to travel by car exist
Providing employees with laptops and mobile phones will allow them to work while on the move. Many trains, buses and transport hubs now provide wi-fi internet access so that passengers can check email and use the internet while in transit.
Find out more about encouraging greater use of Public Transport »
Pool cars
Pool cars provide vehicles that can be used by any member of staff for business trips.
Pool cars can:
- save organisations money
- remove the incentive to travel by car to benefit from mileage allowances
- encourage non-car commuting by eliminating the need for staff to bring their car to work for business travel
Read more about encouraging Responsible Car Use »
Pool bicycles
Having a pool of bikes and cycling equipment available for staff use means more people can choose to cycle for short business trips and during break times. It leaves staff free to commute by public transport, walk or to car share to and from work.
Read more about encouraging Cycling »
Car clubs
By joining a car club, organisations can avoid the need to own or lease their own vehicles and staff can leave their own cars at home more often.
Car club vehicles can be block booked during business hours to ensure availability. Meanwhile, bookings, day-to-day management of the scheme and vehicle acquisition and maintenance are dealt with by the car club operator.
Read more about encouraging Responsible Car Use »
Air travel
Air travel is the most polluting form of transport and can be more time-consuming than other options when airport transfers and security checks are taken into account. For long distance travel, however, there is often no alternative to flying.
Try to use airports that are well served by public transport. This will reduce the need to use taxis, hire cars or to drive.
Book direct flights wherever possible. Large amounts of fuel are consumed during take-offs and landings. Staff will be able to work more efficiently during direct flights, as they won't have to go through multiple security checks, embarkations and disembarkations.
