Demand reduction doesn’t have to be a dirty phrase

Flying less isn’t the easiest sell, especially in the world of corporate travel. But there are plenty of decent reasons to choose an alternative way to travel, or even (gasp) not go at all, says our Legal Director Carly Hicks.

I write this as I stare out of my window at the very grey, very wet station at Aachen, Germany. It's 7:40 am (European time) and I'm an hour and a half into my journey from Brussels to Berlin which began at 6:23 this morning.

So far this morning I've written a presentation for my meeting in Berlin tomorrow; a gathering of other European NGOs working on driving climate action in the international shipping sector. I'm now writing this blog (lucky you!), plus I've got a couple of calls to make and several things I want to type up or read. With another six and a half hours until I arrive in Berlin, there’s plenty of time.

At Opportunity Green we try to live our values in our everyday professional lives. This means, among other things, that we buy most of our office electrical equipment second hand from Backmarket, our office mugs are either staff donations (my childhood Winnie the Pooh mug now has a new lease of life) or Ebay finds. We also prioritise taking the train over flying, and we’re now looking at how to record our business travel emissions for full travel accountability.

Demand reduction is an uncomfortable truth in aviation

My last long-distance train journey was only a couple of weeks ago, to an NGO meeting in Amsterdam on how to decarbonise aviation. Since then, I’ve been thinking about how often we talk about the need to reduce the climate impact of aviation in terms of ‘demand reduction’.

Demand reduction, or flying less, is an uncomfortable truth for the aviation industry in particular. It is intent on selling us the promise of 'sustainable growth' of the sector (just look at reports from the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) forecasting “complete and sustainable recovery and growth of air passenger demand in 2023”).

But the reality is that strategies to advance 'sustainable aviation fuels’ and zero-emission aircraft will not be enough to achieve the necessary emissions reductions for aviation to reach the Paris 1.5 degree goal and sustainable growth of aviation.

Put simply, we must get used to a world where we fly less.

Over the years, the aviation industry has done a stellar job of positioning itself as an aspirational mode of transport. As a child, the idea of flying on holiday was incredibly exciting: the clean terminal filled with shops; the melting pot of people passing through; the onboard TV. Not to mention, stepping onto the aeroplane in a grey and wet UK and stepping out and being hit by a wall of heat at your destination.

We were sold a magical experience, and for a lot of us flying still retains an element of excitement (can you think of any other place or time when it is (semi) legitimate to get a beer at 6 am?).

Demand reduction doesn't then seem like a particularly attractive idea.

Business flyers need to lead the way

While the aviation industry sells itself as an affordable and convenient means of travel for the masses, the fact is that only 1% of the global population is responsible for 50% of emissions from flying. And a big share of this – about 30% in Europe – comes from corporate flyers, often with high-polluting business class long-haul flights.

Moreover, business travellers make up some 12% of passengers but up to 75% of revenues on certain flights, so their choices have important leverage on the aviation industry.

For many companies, business air travel is a large part of their CO2 footprint, including up to 60-80% for service provider companies (e.g. consultancy and finance). 

The annual Travel Smart Ranking measures efforts made by global companies towards reducing corporate air travel emissions. Its 2023 report found that 85% of global companies don’t have credible plans to reduce corporate flying emissions – and yet, they are in the perfect position to make a difference.

If 10% of companies – the biggest emitters of the ranking – set 50% reduction targets, this would go half the way towards achieving the global target of -50% in corporate air travel emissions by 2025.

Which brings me back to my professional pilgrimage to Berlin and back. Not only is it possible, it’s even enjoyable. I have time on my own, uninterrupted by too many calls or incoming emails, so I have achieved more before 9 am than I often would in an entire morning.

I have time to think, a comfortable, roomy seat and I feel relaxed – no need to rush around a busy airport, arrive three hours early to stand in security queues, endure the pressurised cabin and the drying effect on my skin.

Despite what we're sold, flying isn’t actually all that magical. In fact, it’s tiring and takes its toll on your physical and mental health. And those who are most affected are often the corporate travellers who are regularly away from their homes and loved ones.

Let’s reframe the narrative around corporate travel

In a post-Covid world, we have an opportunity to reshape not just our leisure travel but also our professional travel.

Covid meant that clients who would usually insist on in-person meetings had to make do with a video call, and they realised it was often a better, more efficient alternative. It also meant that employees who would otherwise live out of a suitcase spent more time with their families, or resting, or exercising.

Demand reduction doesn't need to be about forcing businesses to adopt restrictive measures that will harm productivity. It can be about increasing our health and wellbeing as a society.

It's about being brave enough to do things differently. It's about empowering employees to make choices that actually work for them, by choosing to travel differently, or by choosing not to travel at all.

As for me, I'm currently between Dortmund and Hamm, and I'm going to spend the next 20 minutes looking out of the window watching this tranquil part of Germany go by.

Opportunity Green is the Irish partner on the 2023 Travel Smart campaign – find out why we are calling for Irish corporates to reduce air travel emissions.