Companies push employees to adopt sustainable travel, reduce carbon footprint

71 percent of Indian employees said they would only work at a company that prioritises business sustainability, according to a survey by Adobe, conducted in 2023.

Global management consulting major McKinsey has put in place 50 percent in-office and 50 percent remote office attendance for non-consulting staff to balance in-person work imperatives and reduce travel. This is in line with its focus on achieving net-zero climate impact by 2030.

For colleagues that need to be deployed outside of their home office, the strategy-focused consultancy firm has devised tailored hybrid models depending on the nature of engagement, such as alternate week presence at client sites, half the team in person and half remote, etc.

Companies across sectors are encouraging and pushing employees to become part of the larger sustainability agenda. Many are moving away from the traditional strategy of just conducting workshops to more tangible ways of enabling employees to create a direct impact.

The focus on sustainability also acts as an effective talent acquisition strategy as 71 percent of Indian employees said they would only work at a company that prioritises business sustainability, according to a survey by Adobe, conducted in 2023. A very high proportion of employees (94 percent) say they are directly involved in driving sustainability practices at their workplace. This is even higher (97 percent) for workers aged between 25 and 34 years.

Here, the mode of work seems to have a greater edge. The recent 4-day workweek trial in the United Kingdom found a “10 percent decrease” in commuting, thereby reducing carbon footprint.

“Our experience with Indian corporates suggests that this is a mixed bag currently, both in terms of companies incentivising less travel and its adoption. We do see fewer instances of travel to a different city for a single meeting with some companies. We also equally see the mindset of ‘in-person meetings are irreplaceable’,” Amit Khera, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company told Moneycontrol.

As we move forward, Khera said companies will have to find a good balance between the two by adopting a hybrid mode.

Mode of travel in focus

EY Global Delivery Services (GDS) plans to continue introducing more electric vehicles for its employees to reduce carbon emissions and encourage them to use public transportation when available. A car-pooling app has also been introduced for employees to use fewer vehicles and optimise travel to work.

To reduce air-travel carbon emissions, Mukul Pachisia, Global Operations Leader at EY GDS, said the delivery arm of consulting major EY has reduced the frequency of air travel and instead leveraged virtual tech for collaborations.

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In April, healthcare solution firm Carelon Global Solutions added 30 more electric vehicles to help associates with the commute. This is in addition to 28 EVs in its Hyderabad and Gurugram offices. By 2025, the company wants to have 25 percent of its vehicle fleet to be electric.

“Plastic cups are forbidden on our campuses and have been replaced by ceramic or recyclable glasses. We have set up green corners filled with plants in every part of our office,” said Mosur Saisekar, Chief Country Executive of India at Carelon Global Solutions.

Tracking impact

Employees at EY GDS use various tools, including dashboards, to calculate their air travel emissions. The ‘Zero Carbon e-Mission (ZCE)’ app tracks carbon avoidance individually and as a team through various missions such as avoiding eating meat for a week or switching off electronic devices when not in use.

“As of now, over 2,800 employees participated and collectively reduced over 236.67 tCO2e of carbon and have saved 1,257.73 cubic metres of water,” Pachisia said.

SAP Concur, an American SaaS company providing travel and expense management services to businesses, informs sustainable options and green partners with custom fields, so that when employees are booking travel, they can quickly pick the most sustainable choice.

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Apart from carpooling, an employee has the option to choose the mode of transportation i.e., bus, train, or air which can create less of an impact on the environment. It guides the employees to make the right travel and accommodation choices and monitors their progress in cutting greenhouse gas emissions over time.

If an employee has booked travel and accommodation using the SAP Concur solution, the technology helps the employee to check the progress in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

“Despite being confident of their sustainable travel policies, Indian organisations can improve further by equipping employees with the relevant knowledge and skills to accelerate their efforts,” said Ashwani Narang, Head of Spend Management, India, South Asia, at SAP Concur.