Frank Harrison is Regional Security Director for the United Kingdom and North America for World Travel Protection
The recent COP26 conference in Glasgow sent the message that we – as individuals, as organizations and as an industry – have a responsibility to reduce our environmental impact and implement behavior changes that can help.
Unfortunately, the realities of climate change are more evident than ever. We are now witnessing widespread forest fires in the western United States and the islands and mainland Greece, unprecedented rainfall in Greenland, and the human impact of deforestation in South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia.
The impact of the increased intensity of major weather events around the world, and the resulting impact of losses and recoveries, be it financial or the lack of available resources, mean that we can no longer ignore climate change and its impact on businesses.
Environmental risks are becoming more and more important for insurers; Unlike risks with known and quantifiable ratings, climate change has an overarching impact that affects many factors, from global supply chains to potentially destabilizing civil societies.
The lack of protection of our environment and the effects of increasingly devastating storms and natural disasters pose a greater risk than the combined threats of infectious diseases. The result can be mass migrations of people from affected regions and political ineptitude.
There is no switch to turn off climate change. This requires concerted and long-term efforts at all levels, from individuals to governments.
Travel in all its forms – commuting, leisure travel, business travel, and the supply chain – all have an impact on the environment. Globally, CO2 calculators are very effective in demonstrating these effects through measurable CO2 footprints from activities. Understanding the carbon footprint of your organization and creating transparency for companies and individuals is the first step in addressing the effects of climate change as an organization and enabling it to rethink and act.
Before making decisions about sustainability policies, understand their impact in order to influence planning to reduce the carbon footprint. Since many people work from home for over a year and a half, digital interfaces have become established and accepted for most aspects of work.
Businesses need to weigh the cost-benefit ratio against the net carbon footprint of travel. Is travel the core of business operations, development and relationship management? Can a digital interface be enough?
In addition to calculating the cost of a trip, companies should also include billing costs in the event that the trip cannot be avoided. Businesses should also aim to reduce the carbon footprint of their travelers and help individual employees make informed decisions.
Ask yourself: As a company, are you addressing climate change in your travel risk management? Many companies have well-developed business continuity programs, crisis and contingency management procedures, and travel assistance functions. An organization’s business travel needs to focus on the traveler, the destination, and the activity being performed.
The business traveler needs to be prepared, travel with confidence, be risk aware, adapt and be sure to use support. The easiest way to do this as an organization is to provide a travel support that engages your travelers with current and evolving information specific to their trip.
Climate change brings a lot of uncertainties and your travelers need to know that in the event of a weather event, an environmental flight disruption, or a crisis or emergency event, there is an emergency notification facility between employer and employee.
All companies should monitor their carbon footprint, take steps to reduce it, and be prepared for the effects of climate change when traveling on business.
