Our thinking

Travel Slow

26 August, 2022

Here’s something you probably know: flying isn’t great for the planet. A return transatlantic flight churns out more carbon than an entire year of driving.

Switching planes for trains can reduce your international travel emissions by more than 90%. And with a new generation of luxurious sleeper trains taking Europe by storm, there’s never been a better time to embrace slow travel. However, although half of us say we’re ready to reduce the amount we fly, only 3% of people actually do.

The reason? Time. Frequent flyers are more likely to be professionals with busy lives and limited annual leave. And flying is often (though not always) a way of getting to your holiday destination more quickly.

At Good Business, we recently launched a scheme to tackle this barrier. Through our Slow Travel Policy, team members are offered up to two days’ additional paid leave to spend taking flight-free journey options. And since it was introduced in spring 2022, a quarter of us have switched our summer holidays from plane to train.

Slow travel allowances allow us all to act on our values without a time cost – and see more of the world in the process. And there are perks for employers too, from increased PR coverage to improved recruitment of climate-conscious candidates.

If you think a slow travel scheme could take off in your organisation, why not pitch the idea to your employer? Accredited schemes like Climate Perks provide a host of information to help you make your case – and we’d be happy to help too.

By Sarah Howden