In recent years there has been an astounding shift in attitude around the globe, with a clear decision to look after our planet – this has meant for most companies sustainable business travel is now a high priority. Now outside of the workplace, we all know how important it is to recycle, buy locally-grown products and bring our own reusable bags to the supermarket, but in our busy travel fuelled work lives, how can we be more sustainable and environmentally friendly?
Now admittedly, being away from your everyday routine in an unfamiliar city can make it difficult to keep up your eco-warrior ways. So that’s why we’ve come up with 5 ways you can be more environmentally friendly when you travel on business!
Sustainable Hotels
Without a doubt, more and more eco-friendly and sustainable hotels are popping up on the radar. Once upon a time, eco-hotels were notorious for sandal-wearing hippies, but times have changed – eco has gone lux!
Now we know that finding the right sustainable hotel for you can be unnecessarily difficult, as most hotels don’t advertise their eco features. That’s why we have our own handy eco-friendly grading! Hotels are assessed by our team and ranked with either our standard, bronze, silver or gold badge. Keep your eyes peeled for our eco-friendly badges on our online booking tool, bookings and enquiries!
Psst…we even did a blog post on our Top 5 Eco Hotels in the UK!
Everything Electronic
Between being handed leaflets and business cards and printing out reading material for your journey, business travel can be very paper-heavy! Instead of printing out reading material or key documents, use the free Wi-Fi available in airports and on most trains to review documents. Networking? Try connecting on LinkedIn rather than handing out business cards (which lets face it are often taken and left in someone’s pocket for a good while!)
Carry What You Can
More and more airlines are trying to get people to ‘lighten the load’, with the aim of reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Now, let’s face it, there’s always someone who packs too many pairs of shoes (the pair that never actually venture outside your hotel room), but switching to a carry on bag is better for you than you think! After all, the last thing you want to do is be lugging around a heavy suitcase after a long flight. So roll your clothes for more carry on space and pack clothes that can be both smart and casual!
Keep On Drinking
It’s the one thing you can’t escape – plastic bottles! With this being a huge push in the last year or so, it seems like common sense but most people forget about taking a reusable bottle when travelling. Most airports now have water fountains you can fill your bottle up in after you pass through security. Now, most countries have safe tap water but if you’re worried about anything, invest in a filter water bottle before you go. The two go-to brands for this are usually LifeStraw or WaterWell.
Don’t Be A Clean Freak
If you don’t change your bed linen and towels everyday at home, why should you when you’re travelling? Most hotels will give guests the opportunity to reuse sheets and towels, which considerably reduces the amount of water used by the hotel in washing! In fact some hotels even reward you for forgoing housekeeping, offering up food and drink vouchers in return.
Get in touch to find out how we can help with your business travel!
When it comes to green, we’ve got it covered!
