How do I refuse to fly for work due to environmental concerns?

[itchybitzy]

I work for a large global company, and unfortunately travel often falls as part of the job. I've managed to keep my travel commitments to a minimum, as quite frankly I hate business trips with a passion, but I am still required to fly at least 2 transatlantic roundtrips per year, plus possibly one European trip.

In recent years I've become more concerned about the devastation we are creating to the environment and have been trying to maintain more sustainable habits to help 'do my bit' where possible. I recently calculated the impact my business trips are having on my annual CO2 footprint and it's staggering.

Has anyone refused to fly with work due to climate change worries? I'd like to broach this subject with my boss but am worried it might be detrimental to my career. The trips are just not worth the footprint in my mind and are not what I would consider essential to our business. I am prepared to video conference in to these meetings, even if it means working late into the night/early in the morning.

Advice or experience would be great! Thanks mumsnetters!

If the employer has a policy or employee group on these matters OP may wish to participate to help the employer make positive changes.

If it’s transparent that she is seeking a change in her personal working conditions, primarily or partly for other reasons, her employer is likely to take a dim view! Unless when taking the job she negotiated travel limitations, which I did.

Btw I would be very careful not to come across as using the environment as an excuse not to travel, esp if it is already well known that you dint like travelling in the first place!!

Do those saying the flight is going anyway not understand how demand and supply works?

Is this for an essay or article you're writing OP?

crazy to say it makes no difference - OP has researched and is already doing what she can in other areas
approach it through the company's CSR/sustainability policy
try and network with anyone like minded
volunteer to convene a working party on it
propose solutions
....but don't just refuse to go
...and judging by this thread be prepared for all the defensive/selfish crap you'll get from people who will do anything, anything rather than give up flying

TBH I can't believe so many of you are so complacent about the status quo!

When or if you all get to the status of decision-maker will you change this? what about when you get 'some' say in these decisions - will you make a stand, or let it all be business as usual? We all have a responsibility here - even if its incrementally changing the 'climate' of thought on all this. 'Daring' to tell your boss that you'd like the company you work for to think about these things and indeed proposing ways to help are surely what we should all strive to do?

Why do you think we have the vote, women's rights, metoo, civil rights, a living wage, or any of the many, many positive changes to business practices over the past decades? Apart from some very brave individuals who truly stuck their neck out, its also down to a change in the atmosphere of what is accepted and normal, and that change can and must be done day-to-day, and in small steps.

If I don't eat that sausage the pig will still be dead, but actually as you must be able to see, that's not the point!!!

None of us can be holier than the rest on this - we have to get to work or live our lives, but that doesn't mean we don't strive for things to change so that we can make the right choice

How do you “refuse“? You don’t, if you have an ounce of sense and are worth whatever salary they pay you. You don’t refuse, you persuade, convince, provide alternative solutions, outline a business case why your way would be better for the organisation/for clients, etc etc etc

Dh has got round it by taking the train but his meetings been Northern Europe. One of the other senior partner flatly refused to attend the partner conference held pointlessly in Spain for a jolly so think this will become more common. Flying is far and away the worst thing we can do. Not even going to respond to the “planes are going anyway” posters how thick can you get

I am really shocked and saddened to see this thread.
I'm not even vegan, and don't fly for my job, but still.

Surely we are ALL supposed to be trying. To reduce our own carbon footprint. AND persuade our/all employers and businesses to take action. And persuade our MP's and the Government.

All the / most business meetings, which require trans-Atlantic flying are nonsense and most could be done with a conference call / Skype.

Now, getting a job/keeping a job is ruthless! Do no one is suggesting that we become a pain, by refusing to fly, and this get sacked!

But tonnes of posters saying: the flight will go anyway..... errr no that's rubbish. If only 30 people want to fly, BA etc cut one flight.

So we should ALL gently and subtly be trying to persuade our employers that this doesn't need to happen!!!

Don't you think that in a few years time we will all wake up to this ? Greta etc!!

and more things will be made Law / put in put in place by governments, to say that people can't do this and don't need to fly as often for business etc etc ?

it will become standard practice. well hopefully !!

I would take it slowly here OP - try and cut it to one trip per annum initially and present the videoconferencing idea as a cost-saving initiative - it may get more support than saying it is due to climate change.

Fundamentally you will need to convince your boss that the business need for your trip will be met completely by you being at home conferencing in - think carefully about this as there are often softer benefits from being on the ground somewhere than being remote - it depends on your job but developing relationships, getting a sense of morale, listening to gossip etc can matter a lot. We used call it the ‘touch test’ in my job - seeing things with your own eyes and ears counts for a lot. If this is something which may be in your boss’s mind you might find it tough to convince them that not taking the trip is a runner.

@Girlwhowearsglasses I cycle everywhere for my social arrangements, don't eat meat or dairy and am pretty good with recycling and (more importantly IMO) only buying very minimal amounts of "stuff". I do drive, a lot, for work and take a flight for leisure travel maybe once every 3/4 years.

I've done a lot of research on it actually and planes are really not our biggest issue. The scariest part IMO is the destruction of the rainforests and their impact on carbon dioxide, which is actually mostly done for cattle production more than palm oil (although "they" don't want you to know that).

I'm not complacent at all.

I don't think you can refuse to do parts of your job, but you can make a case and present it to your employer. Presumably, videoconferencing instead of flying will save the company money as well as giving them something to boast about with regard to their sustainability agenda. You just need to persuade them that you can do the job just as well without the travel.

For what it's worth, the flights are technically part of your employer's carbon footprint rather than your personal one, but I do understand your unease. In the longer term, I think all companies are going to have to think harder about whether there are more sustainable ways of doing business.

You don’t refuse, you persuade, convince, provide alternative solutions, outline a business case why your way would be better for the organisation/for clients, etc etc etc

This^

Excellent post @flowery

My job and those of my team involved working with our clients - we travel worldwide on a regular basis. If an employee didn’t want to do this they would no longer have a job.

I think you need to address it as a company wide policy discussion about environmental impact and remove your personal work situation from it. Raise it ss an agenda item with possible solutions and benefits to the company.

@Oblomov20, I think people who have been travelling for work will know weel that in SOME CASES you can avoid the travel (the meeting in Spaon to make it a jolly being a good example of it). But in other cases, its just not possible.
Plus it is true that being able to meet people face to face does make things easier later on so having a once a year meeting might well be necessary.

Its not just an issue of 'putting pressure on companies so you dont travel as much'. You have to take the business needs into acount too.

As others have said, I wouldn't present it as something you want but something you think is best for the company.

"I'm worried about the optics of unnecessary transatlantic flights, can we talk the possibility of conducting this meeting via teleconference? It would save the client X amount and contribute to Y corporate sustainability goal" etc etc.

Given you work for a large global company I'd also see if there are any relevant committees you could sit on.

My experience of business travel is that it is rarely absolutely necessary but it is a different skill set managing skype or similar type calls and interactions with larger groups and not sure we have developed the etiquette and process around making it work int he work place yet.

My approach would be to find person with CSR responsibility and discuss with them and see how it fits with where they are taking things like this corporately, many lower level management and even senior mgt and unaware of the carbon costs involved in things like flying 20 odd people in from around the world for a jolly (lets face it that's why they want people to actually get together).

I would then go to my boss and lay out the alternatives on the basis of the CSR Policy and say you want to leed the way on the implementation and how well that would reflect on him blah blah blah

that is of course lead...

Assume you have an electric car and are not a consumer of dairy products?
If I were your manager and it was essential work rather than a ‘treat’ I’d be helping you reduce your footprint further by stopping your need to get to work each day.

I think attitudes to business travel will be very different in 10 years. And the “how dare you raise this unless you live in a hedge off grid” brigade are pathetic. We all need to act.

I don’t think your boss is going to give a shiny about your ‘environmentally sustainable habits’. You’re going to get laughed at and possibly sacked

Some totally backwards thinking here, if nothing else you raising this will be food for thought for your business. The idea that you proposing some solutions will get you fired immediately is laughable.

Do the perfection brigade expect one day we'll all wake up living in fields eating worms? No it'll be many small steps everyone takes. Refusing to take action unless everyone does means maintaining the status quo until we're all shafted.

On the thread about personal flights people were saying they wouldn't stop flying as business flights were more of an issue. Here is someone trying to rectify this and they're being chastised, ridiculous.

As others suggest look at policies, cost up options and present some ideas. I've been working through my travel plan for the year and have been totally open about not wanting to fly, no one's taken my job off me. Sure when it comes to it there may be a budget £20 flight to Belgium and I can't justify the Eurostar if a trip is essential but at least I'm trying

Carbon offsetting, surely.

Esp if OP is travelling business class... the extra cost to carbon offset is paltry compared to business class fares.
I wish OP would return to explain what she does when she travels for work that requires her physical presence (I totally agree that it's essential in many roles). But not all roles.

Some totally backwards thinking here

And some lack of realism with you. She won't get fired but itnwill damages her career if she says she can no longer fly. No discussion it's a fact. Your assumption that her company needs her to point the environmental concerns out is laughable.