Last week I flew, and I have mixed feelings about it.
I was presented with a great opportunity for my business that entailed flying to & from a meeting in another state on the same day. Something about both flights being on the same day made me really uncomfortable, more so than other times I’ve flown.
As a sustainability professional, I have to acknowledge the negative impact that air travel has on climate change. One of the most-recommended ways to reduce your individual carbon footprint is to limit air travel. Collectively, travel can account for 70% – 80% of the greenhouse gas emissions for a national conference, according to MeetGreen.
On the other hand, as a meetings & events professional, I have to acknowledge the power of in-person meetings. Face-to-face meetings have a tangibility and reality that can be difficult to replicate digitally. People are much more likely to form emotional connections when they can share a meal, chat side-by-side, or even just exchange a physical handshake.
A significant aspect of my business is speaking to groups, and sometimes I fly to do that. I mitigate my impact by purchasing carbon offsets for all of my flights, but I also acknowledge that carbon offsets aren’t a perfect solution. Can you ever truly prove that a project is “additional” (one of the key criteria for evaluating carbon offset projects) and never would have happened without the revenue generated by selling offsets?
At the same time, the projects I support with my carbon offsets are things I believe in. I’m happy that carbon offset programs help me funnel my money toward efforts I might not have known about otherwise.
If I’m going to fly, I fully believe that flying and purchasing a carbon offset is better than flying and not purchasing a carbon offset. But I also know that not flying is the better solution.
I recently read an excellent article in AMI Magazine that confronted the “elephant in the room” of air travel for meetings. It mentioned regional meetings and virtual meetings as two opportunities to reduce air travel emissions associated with national and international events.
I love the idea of regional meetings becoming more of a focus. Regional meetings can be smaller and more intimate than huge national conferences, which might make them even more effective at facilitating personal connections.
I haven’t learned a lot about virtual meetings, but the more I think about the impact of air travel, it’s something I feel compelled to start exploring. What makes a virtual event enjoyable? What types of meetings can become virtual? What types of meetings truly need to be face-to-face? For my own business, can I develop a virtual speaking presentation that’s just as engaging and inspiring as an in-person talk?
I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity presented by my meeting last week, because I think it will help elevate the culture of sustainability in the industry. And I’m grateful that this situation has motivated me to think through these issues more deeply and consider new ideas for my business. But sitting there on the plane, I did feel like I let my climate hero Greta Thunberg down a little bit.
What’s the environmental impact of your meeting? I’ll help you measure it and come up with solutions to make positive change.