It’s hard trying to be green in your professional life, particularly when you have to fly for work. The increasing awareness about the damage caused by putting tonnes of carbon directly into the atmosphere is making myself and other environmentally concerned commuters think twice about air travel. And while cutting back or eliminating flights when going on holiday is simply a matter of choosing a destination where you don’t need one, getting on a plane for work can be more problematic.
As someone who doesn’t own a car and usually only travels on public transport, my carbon footprint is pretty low. But air travel is the dirty black stain on my record. If I can get to a work meeting or conference within a reasonable time by train I will take it. But sometimes a plane is the only way to travel. I attended a science conference in Austria last week. I would have loved to have followed Greta Thunberg’s lead and taken the train from London all the way to Linz. Unfortunately I had to be in Birmingham the day before so a two-day train trip was out of the question. Also the possibility of patchy wi-fi and phone coverage, plus the fact working on a lap-top while on a train makes me travel sick, means productivity levels would plummet - something you can ill afford when self-employed.
So what to do?
Not attending at all would work if there were webinar facilities to watch presentations from the comfort of my own office. But, as someone who produces events, it is expensive and often not cost-effective to use these services, particularly if it is a niche event. Also it means missing out on networking opportunities, which as a journalist is one of the main reasons to attend conference.
Carbon offsetting is the conscience salve of choice for frequent flyers. A quick browse through the UK Government’s website, however, appears to show environmental tax relief only applies to big businesses not tiny operations like my own so I would have to bear the full cost, meaning I would effectively have to pay twice.
So I decided compromise was the only way forward. Instead of flying from London to Frankfurt and getting on another plane to Linz, I flew to Vienna and completed the remainder of my journey to Upper Austria by rail. It was far from the ideal solution but at least one flight is better than two right?
This was the best I could do to achieve a work flight balance. If anyone has a better solution, please let me know.