Reply to pushing back on frivolous business travel that can easily be conducted by Zoom

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Reply to "pushing back on frivolous business travel that can easily be conducted by Zoom"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If my employee pushed back on travel for “environmental reasons,” I’d be annoyed. I’d bet they still take vacations to places they want to go. The environmental thing sounds like you just don’t want to do your job.[/quote]

OP here. I have a solid reputation in my organization. My technical skillset extends beyond the skillset of most other staff members, and so I'm critical for many of our climate analysis projects. Without me, there is no other person currently on the staff to do the work, and my track record is one of very high productivity. So I'm not worried about the point you make above. I am worried, however, that most people in the organization view these trips to conferences as free vacations. So my view is completely out-of-sync with almost everybody else's view. And no, I'm not taking lots of vacations to far-off locations. I carefully monitor my CO2 footprint.[/quote]

But you haven’t provided a good reason why you shouldn’t go. Environmental concerns is not a reason. You are not in control of your company’s emissions[/quote]

What do you mean "environmental concerns is not a reason"? It is indeed a reason. Just because this type of thinking isn't broadly shared doesn't make it invalid.[/quote]

No, what makes it invalid is that it’s not your job. You aren’t in a position to determine the environmental priorities and policies of your employer. You also don’t get to say whether business travel is “worth” it to your employer. You are being asked to travel because it is part of your job duties. If you are finding that a particular conference or event is not productive, you can give your manager that feedback. But it should be based on reasons that are relevant to your job, not to the environment. [/quote]

OP here. The conferences are often focused on climate risk. But it seems that my colleagues don't appreciate the irony that to attend a climate risk conference, they are themselves contributing to that risk.

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I think a lot of people recognize that these problems require regulatory and industrial solutions and can’t be solved at the individual level. They may see the irony but they may also be more realistic about the potential for any individual impact.[/quote]

Yes, but regulatory changes become more likely if a growing subset of voters are taking the lead by making lifestyle changes to reduce CO2 emissions. Personal action can promote political action, and vice versa. Conversely, inaction at the individual level can contribute to inaction at the political level. 
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