Can the carbon cost of international corporate events ever be offset?

Last month, I read an article by the activity-led travel agency, Much Better Adventures, that confronted the ethical issues of promoting sustainability whilst being part of a sector reliant on international travel. The issues and ideas raised in the piece have lingered with me because it’s a very familiar problem for us at Dynamic Events. 

We are committed to sustainability and care passionately about protecting our planet and yet, we promote, plan and travel to events all over the world - usually by plane. Air travel is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions, accounting for around 2.5% of total global CO2 emissions. Despite representing a relatively small percentage of overall emissions, its impact is substantial due to the high altitude at which emissions are released, which amplifies their warming effect. Efficiency has improved but global demand has increased so, despite some environmentally-minded individuals and businesses seeking to reduce their air travel, as a population we’re flying more than ever. Arguably, much of this is avoidable. 

During the pandemic, reduced travel had a positive impact on the planet while technology allowed us to stay connected. Dynamic became virtual event experts as we moved our clients’ conferences and events online. Fast forward to 2024 though and most of our events are in-person again. In fact, most are destination events and take place internationally. Why? Because in-person events are just more effective for business and it’s still essential for global companies to bring their people together. 

Why are international events necessary for business?

People come together to learn - to explore ideas and innovate, to celebrate and to make connections that lead to better relationships. Changing working environments can also stimulate new ideas, open us up creatively and help us see the bigger picture.  

With many people now working from home and with teams split across multiple locations, it’s more important than ever to bring people together and events are an ideal way of doing this because they provide multiple benefits. 

Ensuring that employees have opportunities to interact and build relationships is not only better for business - in the sense that it boosts productivity - it can support wellbeing. The novelty and excitement of travel can enhance mood and mental health, while activities involved in travel can contribute to physical health and introduce us to new experiences. Exploring new places and cultures broadens perspectives, boosts creativity, and fosters personal growth and social connections made at corporate events also fuel wellbeing. 

It’s about more than carbon emissions 

Sustainability is so much more than measuring our carbon footprint. When you're a business operating globally, it’s about the wider impact you have. Whilst we are committed to reducing carbon emissions, we also ensure we’re upholding our environmental, social and governance (ESG) responsibilities and those of our clients.

International travel and overseas events can contribute to better wealth distribution. As Much Better Adventures point out, the travel industry supports many local communities, businesses and livelihoods worldwide. Reducing air travel may reduce carbon emissions but with less tourism, we may see communities struggling.  

Global relationships can also promote the adoption of shared sustainability standards. We've collaborated with international suppliers who have introduced creative sustainable solutions that we’ve successfully integrated into our operations. We've also faced challenges in regions where sustainability is not a priority. However, businesses and travelers with environmentally friendly values have the potential to inspire these less sustainable destinations to raise their standards.  

For instance, increasing demand for eco-friendly accommodations and activities can motivate local businesses to implement greener practices, such as reducing plastic waste or conserving water. 

Should we be aiming to offset corporate air travel? 

Offsetting is complex and we're sceptical about the real impact. While offsetting can help mitigate some of the impact by funding projects that absorb or reduce carbon elsewhere, it doesn't tackle the root problem. Offset projects can vary in effectiveness, and there are concerns about their transparency and long-term sustainability.  

What we can do is encourage more eco-conscious decisions around travel. For instance, direct flights are more efficient than flights with layovers because a lot of fuel is burned at takeoff and landing. This also means that domestic flights, which are often used for business events travel, are more problematic and can also be unnecessary. Trains can be a more efficient and often cheaper alternative when travelling to events nationally. Besides, unlike planes, many trains have access to wifi so it’s possible to make it a working journey. 

Overall, business air travel is on the decline. According to the New Economics Foundation, there were 3.9 million fewer air trips made for business purposes in 2023, a decline of 29% since 2019. So perhaps we are cutting back on unnecessary business trips and international events can actually help to support this because bringing everybody together at once for a full and purposeful schedule of networking and activities, lessons the need for shorter individual business trips in between.

Improving fuel efficiency and the development of sustainable aviation fuel would be the most measurable and impactful way to lower the carbon cost of flying but we’re still in the earlier stages of this and years from sustainable air travel being anything buy an oxymoron. So we have to ask ourselves if the benefits of business travel outweigh the carbon cost.  

As an international events agency, we see first-hand the advantages our clients and their delegates gain from destination events. Let’s face it - virtual events are significantly cheaper to run so if they were as effective as in-person events, then they’d be doing that. 

Destination events can have a highly positive impact on the communities we travel to. We strive to book with local providers and to have a positive impact on the community wherever we travel. We’ll always prioritise working with those who uphold sustainable practices, where possible, and incorporate cultural experiences into the event programme.  

Being aware of the impact we have is also essential. We use Trace by Isla to measure our carbon footprint across all aspects of every event. In doing so, we approach managing our carbon footprint the way smart companies manage budgets - ensuring nothing is spent that is not entirely necessary and that everything is accounted for. 
 
Ultimately, we know that air travel is not a sustainable practice and we need to be open and honest about this. At the same time we must recognise that travel is a necessary and highly beneficial experience, whether it’s for business or leisure. So, until technological advances come to rid us of the carbon guilt of air travel, we must commit to balancing the positive impacts with the carbon cost and make the most of our opportunity to promote sustainability and wellbeing in all that we do.