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As the global mobility industry and the term relocation hints, it is all about changing locations and the transportation services – such as air travel, freight shipping, and ground transportation, represent an important part of the industry. It also plays a significant role in the overall carbon footprint the industry produces. And as we are all becoming more aware of the climate change, the conversation often spans around individual environmental responsibility as well as how the employers and corporations within the global mobility industry can address this issue and both contribute to minimize its negative environmental impacts. Transportation is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. The related CO2 emissions increased to 8.24 billion metric tons of CO2 in 2023. This number represents ~ 21% of the CO2 emissions globally (1). Single long-haul flight can generate more emissions than an average person produces in a year, so how to think about the trade-offs and the power of collective responsibility with this info?
Factors Influencing Environmental Responsibility
The extent to which an individual acts responsibly is highly dependent on factors such as personality traits, values, norms, identity, and situational variables. When it comes to personality traits, the ones most related to pro-environmentalism are openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness based on The Big Five Personality trait model (2). People with higher levels of openness are generally more receptive to learning and adopting new perspectives. Feeling empathy, compassion, and following social norms like recycling is also common for pro-environmental behavior. Values are another fundamental for guiding the way we behave and how ethics or social norms influence our actions. Most of us share values such as love, peace or justice. However, the set of values expands much further and despite not all of them being broadly endorsed, they are not universally accepted yet. These can be gender-equality, but also the pro-environmental values. However, endorsing does not always mean acting upon them. Norms, whether social, legal, or corporate, also play a role in shaping our environmental behavior. When speaking of social norms, the way others within a certain network behave, let it be a circle of friends, family or a group of colleagues, might impact the individual behavior. Finally, when making pro-environmental decisions, individuals logically often consider affordability and the economical factors (money, time, effort).
Individual vs. Corporate Responsibility
While individuals certainly are accountable for their personal carbon footprint, there shall be a shared responsibility in actions which are directly connected with the job the employee/assignee is obliged to do and manage for the employer. So, organizations (not only) in global mobility also bear significant responsibility for creating a supportive environment that enables and empowers to make greener choices. Individuals moving for work often have little control over the modes of transportation selected for them when relocating, especially for international assignments. Thus, employers can help facilitate sustainable practices once the assignee is relocated already in the location and provide resources, incentives, and infrastructure that make responsible choices more accessible in the daily operations.
Employer-Driven Policies:
Employers can create policies that promote greener travel, such as mandating traveling via train on shorter distances, encouraging the use of public transportation, etc. Additionally, they can offer incentives to opt for “green choices”. But the biggest potential with the smallest need for controlling mechanism over the emissions incurred can be managed, if the relocation packages will be offering range of sustainable services by default. According to a Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) survey: A top travel policy change is shifting air to rail, “with 52% encouraging and 28% mandating the use of the train for trips of fewer than a specified number of hours”. 64% mandate economy class flights. Similar policies could benefit assignment policies.
Education and Awareness:
As explained above, not all individuals share the same sets of values or character traits. Different individuals also have different levels of knowledge and understanding about the topic but also the practices or possibilities one can use. Employers should include sustainability awareness training in their corporate learning policies and help them understand how interconnected with the environment everyone’s actions are and how each individual effort matters. Customizing the training for assignees planning the relocation is the next logical step to make sure the assignee will be prepared for the local specifics.
Individual Responsibility with Corporate Support
For individuals, being aware of the environmental consequences when relocating is crucial, but support from employers is needed to make responsible decisions more accessible and actionable. Companies which are part of the global mobility industry are uniquely positioned to accelerate and influence adoption of sustainable practices by creating relevant policies, providing incentives or mandating sustainable behaviors. Ultimately, individual environmental responsibility in the context of transportation should be viewed as a shared responsibility – one where individuals, employers, and the global mobility industry collaborate to reduce carbon footprints. Only by working together, both individuals and businesses can ensure that global mobility advances in a way that respects our planet while continuing to support global growth and connectivity.
Sources:
1. Statista
2. Review Yale
Image credits:
1. Photo by John Towner on Unsplash
2. Photo by Vladisla Babienko on Unsplash
3. Photo by Zeki Binici on Unsplash
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