In December 2018 – a full year before anyone had heard of COVID-19 – I boarded an airplane for the last time.
This was a huge change for me and my business. Over the previous 25 years, I had worked in 47 U.S. states and across Canada, piling up lots of frequent flyer miles and spewing lots of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
In a typical year, I spent 100 nights on the road: leading workshops, facilitating meetings and retreats, working conferences, and tending to clients.
Then I stopped flying. The reason is both simple and complex. It’s all about climate change.
The worst thing you can do
Nearly every carbon calculator will show you the climate impact of air travel. Short version: it’s really, really bad.
According to the David Suzuki Foundation – one of Canada’s leading voices for the environment – “The total carbon impact of a single flight is so high that avoiding just one trip can be equivalent to going (gasoline) car-free for a year.” As reported by Vox News, “For regular flyers, air travel is often the dominant contributor to their greenhouse gas footprints.”
That was me. Yikes!
Making this worse: according to CNN, only 11% of the world’s population flew in 2018. The relatively few of us who can afford a plane ticket bear an extra responsibility to address the problem we’re creating.
Incremental steps: are they enough?
For decades, our household has been taking steps to reduce our climate impact.
We grow an ambitious garden. We buy much of our food from local farmers and producers. We installed solar hot water and solar electric systems. Last year, we sold our gas-powered car and purchased an electric vehicle.
Some of these changes required significant investments. Without larger public subsidies, not everyone can afford these steps, so yes – let’s just name it – my privilege is on full display. Which makes me even more accountable for my choices.
To reduce the impact of air travel, I used to buy carbon offsets, splitting the cost with clients. This always felt necessary but insufficient – another modest, incremental step that didn’t fully address the problem.
Faced with a global crisis, bigger actions are required. Therefore, I stopped flying. Completely. For more than three years, I haven’t been on a plane for any reason: vacation, family, or especially business. I hope to never fly again.
As a result, I had to change my business model.
How this affected my business
To give up air travel – and all that face-to-face contact with clients and students and colleagues across the continent – I made the obvious adjustments.
Moving more work online (again, this began a year before COVID).- Creating geographic limits: locations I can reach by car or train within one day.
Financially, this also affected my bottom line. In 2019, my first flight-free year, net income declined by about 14 percent from the previous year – a significant but manageable change.
Yes, I earned less by not flying. I also vastly reduced my unpaid travel time, travel stress, and – most importantly to me – my carbon impact. All things considered, it’s been a reasonable and necessary tradeoff. I’m not suffering (actually, I’m happier) and neither is my business.
What this means for your nonprofit or business
First, let’s acknowledge that most nonprofits serve their local communities. The consultants who serve nonprofits tend to work locally, too. If that’s your circumstance, the question of flying (or not) is less relevant.
On the other hand, perhaps you fly to conferences or send your staff. If you’re building a regional, national, or international consulting practice, you might spend time on airplanes as I once did. If that’s the case, perhaps you’ve been thinking about your carbon footprint.
My experience shows that you can build a viable business or run a sustainable organization without air travel. Indeed, the pandemic has demonstrated the many (if imperfect) opportunities for remote engagement.
Consider this a branding opportunity. For donors, partners, and customers who care about this stuff, your carbon-reduction strategy might be a selling point.
The good news is…
As reported in The Guardian, a 2021 British study found that annual cuts of only 2.5% in air travel would, “Level off global heating caused by flying.”
“Any growth in aviation emissions has a disproportionate impact,” says an Oxford professor quoted in the article. “But any decline also has a disproportionate impact in the other direction.”
Fewer flyers will eventually equal fewer flights. That would benefit the climate in a big way.
I’m not an absolutist. If I ever need to care for an ailing friend or family member across the country, then yes – I would probably get on a plane. However, as the last several years have proven, it’s not necessary for my business.
Is it necessary for yours?
Thanks for sharing this Andy!
I know you were working on this pre-pandemic, since you referred me a terrific West Coast client in your commitment to decrease your travel.
Virtual is creating many new opportunities. A prospective client meeting can be an hour rather than a half-day for travel. We do planning and design virtually. And some organizations are doing planning meetings across time zones with participants from around the country or around the world.
And we’ve led a number of in-person board or staff retreats recently (with fully-vaccinated participants, following all health guidelines). It is emotionally powerful to be in person with one another. That cannot be replaced –there are actual brain changes that take place when we sit with others and “feel felt” as we connect and align.
Hey Renee — I like the both/and framing of your response. Virtual meetings and events allow us to be inclusive in new ways. And yes, being physically present with other people has real power.
One upside of the pandemic: it’s forced facilitators and group leaders to think differently about engagement. I have a bigger toolbox than I had two years ago, which has been really helpful during this not-flying-anymore phase of my career.
Dear Andy,
Thank you for your article. Those of us who can manage to make this meaningful sacrifice should do so.
As board members of non-profit environmental organization, it is incumbent on us to “walk the talk”. Kudos to you for recognizing and acting on these principles.
Thanks, Mary Margaret. Oddly, it doesn’t feel like a sacrifice. Yes, there are people and places that I miss seeing — and some interesting jobs I’ve turned down — but I am learning to be content closer to home.
Thanks, Andy. The pandemic – for all it’s awfulness – has shown us just how much can be accomplished via Zoom. Granted, it’s not perfect (I so miss those sometimes serendipitous side conversations) but overall, it beats getting in a car for two hours for a two-hour meeting just to turn around and head back home for another two hours.
Bravo on your decision to go flightless!
Thanks for the shout-out, Cesie.
Per your note, I chair a board. Given our success with Zoom meetings (and snowy winter nights in Vermont when people prefer to stay home) we may never hold an in-person board meeting again…
Also worth noting that the equity piece cuts both ways. Connectivity and computer access can be a challenge for some and may limit their participation. On the other hand, one of our board members has a medical condition that makes it difficult to travel, and is SO grateful for Zoom.
Ultimately, this means more hybrid meetings and events. Here’s a previous post on that subject: http://trainyourboard.com/the-future-is-here-and-its-hybrid/
Hi Andy: I love your commitment to walk the walk, in this and so many other ways. I’ve been having a number of conversations with people who really crave those in-person gatherings and just don’t feel like a virtual meeting provides that level of interaction they need.
In our organization (a regional land trust) we’ve taken our business meetings to a virtual format so that people can attend from across the region, and we’ve added in-person site visits a few times a year that allow people face to face time.
But I’m also on the Board of a national organization that is used to convening four or more times a year. Do you have any ideas for how this group can get together without 20 people needed to hop on a plane?
Thanks, Cheryl. Some random thoughts, per your question:
1. Apply the same model to the national group that you’re using regionally. Limit yourselves to one in-person board meeting / planning retreat per year. Conduct the rest of the meetings virtually. For virtual meetings, consider hiring a facilitator with online engagement skills to design and run them.
2. For your in-person board meeting, choose a location that makes it possible for at least some folks to come via car, train, or (hey, why not?) bicycle. Maybe that’s your main office; maybe not.
3. If there’s a national conference that people often attend (for land trusts, probably the Land Trust Alliance Rally), schedule your in-person board meeting right before or after the conference at the same location.
Apocryphal story: Many national trade associations were/are headquartered in Chicago because, 100 years ago, most of the US population could get to Chicago by via a one-night train trip, so it was relatively easy to place to gather. Let’s try to apply the same thinking in a environmentally mindful way.
I love these ideas!! Thank you!
Thanks. I hope you find something that works for you and your group.
Thanks Andy. Keep promoting this please. I’ve not been on a flight since Dec 2019. Haven’t missed it a bit. This works well, and is the right thing to do.
Many of my engagements pre-pandemic only budgeted for one onsite, possibly two if they were close. I’ve worked via phone, email, skype, and now zoom exclusively and effectively.
I make it clear in my scoping calls I will not be working in person. Hasn’t hurt my business overall.
It is very helpful and saves time if the prospective client and consultant make clear if there is any stipulations about in-person before a proposal is written up. Check this out with board and staff members before, not after starting to find a consultant please.
Hi George. Yes, it’s a different model. Like you, it’s worked well for me. I have a few in-person jobs scheduled this summer and fall; the furthest is a four-hour drive, which I will combine with a brief vacation. At this stage in my career, I can do 90% of my work from home; no plans to change that.
And yes! If you’re hiring a consultant, trainer, or facilitator, everyone needs to be clear about their geographic and onsite/in-person/virtual expectations and limitations.
Yeah Andy, I did travel last year because I really was sick of staying at home, but this year, I’m staying home. And I’m asking family to visit me instead. Or just doing more phonecalls with them. It’s hard to not see them, but I do believe less air travel is the way to go for our planet.
Thanks, Mazarine. Totally agree. Have fun with your visitors!