8 Tips to Make Your Business Travel More Sustainable

Traveling the world expands your carbon footprint, even if it’s for work. You don’t have to change careers to shrink your impact on the earth, however. Use these tips to make your business travel more sustainable — starting with your next trip.

1. Stay at Eco-Friendly Hotels

The demand for sustainable lodging is changing the hotel industry. Research shows 78% of consumers want to stay in green lodgings, so many hotel brands are updating their properties to accommodate that desire. Find an eco-friendly hotel with a water reduction program or green electricity for your upcoming business trip to make your traveling better for the planet.

2. Donate to Carbon Offsetting Programs

Some aspects of modern life depend on fossil fuels. You might be unable to avoid the gas-guzzling planes, trains or cars taking you to each business-focused destination.

Carbon offsetting programs make it possible to reduce the impact of your carbon emissions through organizations that plant trees, clean oceans or filter the air. Calculate the emission for your recent or upcoming travels and donate the equivalent to balance your planetary impact.

3. Plan In-Room Self-Care Activities

Carving time for yourself in your travel schedule is essential for strengthening your mental health during busy work weeks. Relax with self-care activities in your hotel room instead of using gas to drive around your destination after work hours. You could read a book, meditate or enjoy a massage, if your hotel has an in-house spa.

4. Eat Vegetarian MEALS While Away From Home

If you avoid eating meat products while traveling, you’ll have a temporary diet that’s better for the planet. The global meat industry contributes 12% to 18% of total carbon emissions. Enjoying meatless meals prevents you from becoming part of those emissions with each purchase. You might even continue a vegan or vegetarian diet at home, if you fall in love with the food.

5. Cook Your Own Food

Restaurants contribute food waste whenever they scrape uneaten food into trash cans or throw out spoiled goods from their commercial refrigerators. It wastes the food and the natural resources spent producing and sourcing each ingredient.

Consider cooking your own food to make your business travel more sustainable. If you stay in places with a kitchenette, you’ll only have to purchase the food you know you’ll eat.

Don’t forget to bring a reusable bag for your groceries. You’ll avoid using more plastic bags, which litter the planet’s landfills and can even end up in the oceans.

6. Rent Electric Vehicles

Whether your job takes you around the world to photograph distant landscapes or meet with business executives, you’ll need transportation to get you from place to place. See if you can rent an electric vehicle, whenever driving is necessary. The battery-powered engine won’t require fossil fuels, making your traveling more climate-friendly no matter how much you need to drive. Hopefully, your hotel will have charging stations, as well. 

7. Pack as Light as Possible

Weight is an essential factor in transportation. Heavier machinery requires more gasoline to reach its destination, because the engine works harder to get the machinery in motion. Pack lightly to shrink the weight your belongings add to your car, train or plane.

Sticking with a minimalist travel wardrobe could make your traveling greener by eliminating single-use items as well. Packing five mini bottles of shampoo for one trip takes up more room in your suitcase than one refillable bottle. If your belongings travel in an eco-friendly bag, you’ll help the planet more than before you made your business travel sustainable.

8. Utilize Digital Travel Documents

Printing copies of your passport, visa or ID requires deforestation. Digital copies of those documents are much better for the planet. See which travel documents you’ll need for your upcoming trip and determine if they have digital alternatives. You could use the virtual copies for your work life and reduce how much paper your job utilizes.

Make Your Business Travel More Sustainable

Anyone can make their business travel more sustainable with simple tips like these. Small efforts create positive ripple effects for the earth. Weigh your options and try ideas which will end up making your next trip greener without complicating your work life.