pushing back on frivolous business travel that can easily be conducted by Zoom
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Anonymous
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Like many of you, I periodically have to go on business trips that involve lengthy flights that generate a lot of CO2.
Ironically, some of these flights are to climate-change related conferences. I'm curious if any of you have pushed back when your employer has required business trips for projects that could readily be performed remotely. If you have pushed back, how did you go about doing it? How did you raise the issue with your employer? And what was their reaction? I'd like to take a stand against frivolous business trips, but I will have to cut against the grain because I think that, within my department, I'm probably the only person who feels as I do. One needs allies to change a system, but my colleagues don't appear to give this issue any consideration whatsoever. |
Anonymous
| Respectfully, can you understand your employers motivation in wanting to attend in person v on Zoom? Do you realize that relationships are easier to start and cultivate in person rather than virtually? |
Anonymous
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Do you not travel for personal reasons? How do you commute to work? What do you eat? Do you buy anything new? Do you own a car?
Not saying business travel is exempt from climate considerations, but if you are going to pull this off, make sure your personal sustainability practices are impeccable. Also, it’s unlikely to work. |
Anonymous
We are a non-profit that effectively operates a monopoly in our professional sector. We don't need to chase clients. We thrived during the COVID lockdown in which all conferences were conducted during Zoom -- this had no impact whatsoever on our revenue stream, and our expenditures went down. In effect, the organization was financially healthier during COVID than during post-COVID. |
Anonymous
OP here. Our household keeps close tabs of our CO2 footprint. Over the last few years we have pushed down our emissions from roughly the U.S. per capita average to about 1/3 of the average. We do have a car, but we average only about 3K miles a year. We go on a single vacation a year and it doesn't include air travel. So we are trying. Obviously, our footprint isn't zero, but it is probably quite low relative to most families in this area. I work from home, so no daily commute for work. I should add that some of what I feel is "frivolous" business travel is to see colleagues in a different city who I see everyday on Zoom. Our conversations are no different in person than they are on Zoom. In fact, I think my productivity goes DOWN when I have to travel. I get more done from home. |
Anonymous
| Why can’t you just say “hey, I think I have a solid relationship with this client and can cut back on in person trips to reduce our carbon footprint. I propose cutting to once a year (or whatever).” |
Anonymous
Told you have to go to COP 28, were you? Yeah, that's a riot. |
Anonymous
| The problem is Zoom/internet and a lot of computing doesn't exactly have a neutral carbon footprint, either. |
Anonymous
OP, Do you have one or fewer kids? Climate consideration.... |
Anonymous
| Yeah. I once dated a guy who worked for an environmental nonprofit. He was constantly jetting off all over the country to various environmental conferences. It was such BS. He also flew for personal reasons. Yet he gave me a hard time for flying places due to back trouble. Somehow he justified his work travel by saying it was overall better for the environment for him to go to these conferences because his nonprofit work was just SO important. Eyeroll. |
Anonymous
OP here. Just one child (age 9). But we didn't decide our family size based on climate. I wasn't concerned about the climate until about 5 years ago, at which point I began analyzing climate issues as part of my job. Gradually, over a few years, I became more and more concerned, and eventually this led me and my wife to make changes to our lifestyle. |
Anonymous
Yeah, but a Zoom call with 6 colleagues involves much less CO2 than all of us flying to some central location to have the very same conversation we would otherwise have on Zoom. |
Anonymous
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I think our you bring climate into it you will sound nuts. Doesn’t mean you’re wrong but I wouldn’t say it out loud at work.
I personally don’t like zoom, I like in person trainings and meetings. I homeschooled my kid for a year when she was 8 because I didn’t think online learning was good. If you want to bring it up say it would be more cost effective for the company to decrease travel. |
Anonymous
Are you seriously saying the carbon emissions from doing zoom meetings are anywhere near those of flying? |
Anonymous
What a weird response. Are you saying anyone with more than one child shouldn’t make any effort to cut back their emissions? |