PricewaterhouseCoopers has launched a strategy for its U.K. travel program to "go green" with a wide-ranging series of environmental measures. The project includes investing in videoconferencing as an alternative to travel, attempting to "carbon-neutralize" its air and car journeys through such compensatory measures as tree-planting, assessing suppliers' environmental credentials and adopting a policy of "rail first."
The PricewaterhouseCoopers initiative is just one example of growing acknowledgement in Europe that business travel is a significant contributor to global warming through the carbon dioxide emitted by aircraft and cars. Such companies as HSBC are tracking employee mileage—and corresponding carbon dioxide emissions—and listing the information in annual or corporate social responsibility reports. A small number of companies are adopting similar measures to those of PwC.
In the public sector, the pace is faster, with governments beginning to exert considerable pressure on travel programs. The Swedish government is rewriting policies to make rail travel the first choice for state employees for journeys of less than 500 kilometers and to prefer the use of hotels with a record of environmental management. The German parliament's second chamber, meanwhile, is considering a law requiring public employees, who account for 15 percent of the country's workforce, to use environmentally friendly modes of transport.
These developments are taking place as Europe moves closer to imposing a tax on aviation fuel. European ministers later this month will discuss whether to introduce a levy, proposed by the French and German governments, of ?300 (US$385) per metric ton, which carriers said would add ?3.50 to ?7 ($4.49 to $8.98) to airfares.
TQ3 chief executive officer and president Marc Hildebrand, who is scheduled to speak about sustainability on May 26 at an Association of Corporate Travel Executives forum in London, said corporate social responsibility is moving fast up the travel agenda as part of a growing corporate trend. "There is much more awareness. All of a sudden, it is in everyone's focus," he said.
Mark Avery, head of business services for PwC and newly elected vice chairman of the United Kingdom and Ireland's Institute of Travel Management, agreed. "It is becoming more and more the current thinking, especially among larger businesses," he said. "It will sweep across the industry, I am sure."
PwC's program is at an early, exploratory stage. The essence of it, according to Avery, is that "we are looking to minimize the environmental impact of our travel in any way we can."
The greenest solution is not to travel, which is why PwC is spending £150,000 on upgrading its U.K. videoconferencing facilities. The previous system was complex to the point of being off-putting. Avery said the user-friendly replacement gives the travel team confidence to communicate throughout the organization that it should be the first choice for internal meetings. Partners have been asked to promote the policy among employees, and the global board is using videoconferencing instead of a face-to-face pow-wow for every other meeting.
"It is too early to measure, but we have had a positive reaction," said Avery. "We accept travel is an essential part of our business, but we felt it was important to put alternative tools in people's hands so they can at least make the choice."
Given that travel often is unavoidable, PwC is asking personnel to consider using a train whenever viable. For those traveling by air or road, PwC is attempting to offset the consequent carbon dioxide emissions through a partnership with Future Forests, an organization that focuses on restoring ecological imbalance through tree planting. PwC is including its entire car fleet in the carbon-neutralization program, including leased cars, rental cars and replacement vehicles.
PwC also could levy an offset fee on its own travelers per flight to devote to environmental projects. This is similar to an idea pioneered in perhaps the best-known environmental travel effort in the U.S., in which Nike and Delta Air Lines both contribute to an "Eco-Fund" for every ticket Nike buys from the airline. However, PwC recently halved the transaction fee it passes on to travelers to persuade them to keep to the corporate travel program
(see story).PwC instead is starting work on its travel supplier program by questioning vendors about their environmental policy. Hotels are to be ranked according to their environmental efforts. "If we find they are doing nothing, we will consider taking them out of the program," said Avery. Travelers will be encouraged to book properties with the highest rankings.
The PwC initiative comes amid a debate over whether the newfound green consciousness of corporate Europe genuinely can help the environment or simply ticks boxes for fund investors. With the International Air Transport Association predicting annual passenger growth of 6 percent through 2008, some might regard the idea of an environmentally friendly corporate travel program as almost an oxymoron.
Avery maintained PwC is genuine in its intent. "We are not doing it to look good in a corporate social responsibility report. We are seriously trying to reduce the environmental impact of our travel where possible," he said.
TQ3's Hildebrand agreed that businesses are acting in good faith. "Corporate social responsibility is no longer just lip service; it is an integral part of corporate thinking," he said. TQ3 recently gained the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 14001 environmental quality accreditation in Germany for a variety of improvements that include reduced electricity and car fleet consumption, charitable projects in developing countries and workforce diversity commitments. It is pursuing the accreditation across Europe.
Hildebrand acknowledged the airlines whose seats TQ3 sells are not environmentally friendly, but "there is a big difference between 30-year-old Boeing 747s and a young fleet that is substantially more fuel-efficient," he said.
British Airways' U.K. and Ireland head of corporate sales Richard Tams said these concerns have yet to exert influence on buyers. "We regard ourselves as being at the forefront of environmental activity among airlines," Tams said, "but we are not yet at the point where clients are dissuaded from signing deals with airlines that have worse records."