WWF’s “One in Five” challenge has cut corporate flights by their participating firms by 38% over 3 years

New results from WWF’s “One in Five Challenge”, a programme to help organisations cut 20% of flights within 5 years in favour of lower-carbon ways of staying connected, show that some of the UK’s leading companies have cut flights by 38% and flight expenditure by 42% over a 3-year period, saving them over £2 million and over 3,000 tonnes of carbon.  Organisations that have achieved the One in Five Challenge, include BskyB, BT, Capgemini, Lloyds TSB, Microsoft UK, the Scottish Government, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Vodafone. The Challenge has helped companies to make significant inroads into cutting their costs and carbon from business travel and to change their business travel behaviour in favour of alternatives such as rail and video-conferencing. These results, together with other WWF-UK analysis which shows a significant, long-term decline in business flying in the UK, point to a permanent change in meeting and travel practices, questioning the business case for UK airport expansion. Having developed the One in Five Challenge and run it successfully for over 4 years, WWF is handing “One in Five” to Global Action Plan (GAP), the UK’s leading environmental behaviour change charity helping business to reduce environmental impact.
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WWF-UK: Companies profit by flying less

24 January 2014

New results published today from WWF’s One in Five Challenge, a programme to help organisations cut 20% of flights within five years in favour of lower-carbon ways of staying connected, show that some of the UK’s leading companies have cut flights by 38% and flight expenditure by 42% over a three-year period, saving over £2 million and 3,000 tonnes of carbon on average.

Aeroplanes on airfield

Organisations that have achieved the One in Five Challenge, including BskyB, BT, Capgemini, Lloyds TSB, Microsoft UK, the Scottish Government, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Vodafone, have cut far more flights, more quickly than anticipated.

The latest results from the third annual report show that since launching the One in Five Challenge in 2009, WWF-UK has helped companies to:

  • Cut 141,000 flights
  • Save £26 million in avoided flights
  • Fly 113 million fewer kilometres
  • Reduce their emissions by 32,000 tonnes of CO2.

The Challenge has therefore helped companies to make significant inroads into cutting their costs and carbon from business travel and to change their business travel behaviour in favour of alternatives such as rail and videoconferencing. These results, together with other WWF-UK analysis which shows a significant, long-term decline in business flying in the UK, point to a permanent change in meeting and travel practices, questioning the business case for UK airport expansion.

David Nussbaum, Chief Executive of WWF-UK said: “The impressive results of the One in Five Challenge show that reducing business flying in favour of lower carbon alternatives simply makes good business sense. It is the smart way for organisations to stay connected in an increasingly carbon-constrained world.  WWF believes that business will continue to fly less – not more – in future and that decisions on UK airport capacity need to reflect this fact. Companies profit by flying less.”

The One in Five Challenge toolkit, launched with the third annual report, shows that members have successfully reduced their flying by having:

  • A travel policy that includes business flight reduction
  • Senior management who support less flying and who set a good example
  • A set of flight reduction measures that are specific to the circumstances and characteristics of each Challenger
  • A comprehensive staff engagement programme
  • A review system that acknowledges the achievements of staff in reducing business flights.

Having developed the One in Five Challenge and run it successfully for over four years, WWF-UK is now handing over management of this programme to Global Action Plan (GAP), the UK’s leading environmental behaviour change charity helping business to reduce its impact on the environment.

Trewin Restorick, Chief Executive of Global Action Plan, said:
 “We are thrilled to be taking over running the 1 in 5 Challenge. Smarter travel choices cut business costs, reduce pollution and can lead to more a more productive and engaged workforce. Global Action Plan will be using our skills and experience to build on the incredible foundation created by WWF-UK. We will help existing partners deliver further improvements, widen the number of companies involved and share results with policy-makers and the business community.”

http://www.wwf.org.uk/how_you_can_help/get_your_business_involved/one_in_five_challenge/

Notes to editors: 

1. WWF One in Five Challenge 3rd annual report: www.wwf.org.uk/oneinfivereport 

2. WWF infographic on UK business travel trends  http://www.wwf.org.uk/how_you_can_help/get_your_business_involved/one_in_five_challenge/no_business_case_for_airport_expansion/

3. WWF One in Five Challenge Toolkit:  www.wwf.org.uk/oneinfivetoolkit 

http://www.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/press_centre/?unewsid=6988

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Global Action Plan (GAP)  http://globalactionplan.org.uk/

GAP’s page showing work they have already done with businesses is at

http://globalactionplan.org.uk/our-work-with-businesses


 

Cancelling corporate flights saves companies £2m

12 UK firms drive down costs and carbon footprint by cutting flights 38 per cent through WWF One in Five initiative

By Will Nichols (Business Green)

23 Jan 2014

airplane jet hedge aviation airport plane jet jetfuel aeroplane

A WWF initiative to help 12 leading organisations reduce their businessflights has helped participants save an average of over £2m over three years.

BT, Microsoft, BskyB and the Scottish Government are among the members of the campaign group’s One in Five Challenge, which commits participants to cutting business flights by a fifth over five years. Other members of the group include Marks & Spencer, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Skanska, Vodafone, Capgemini, Lloyds TSB, and Balfour Beatty.

WWF’s latest report shows the group’s members have on average cut flights by 38 per cent and flight expenditure by 42 per cent, avoiding 3,000 tonnes of CO2 in the process.

Moreover, organisations maintained reductions through each year of the programme even through cuts become steadily more difficult after the first year when the obvious changes are made. Savings after the first year of the scheme totalled £14m across 10 participants, while in the third year seven companies shared £15m worth of savings and in the fourth year six companies recouped £13m.

Since the challenge was launched in 2009, participants have cut out 141,000 flights, travelling around 113 million fewer kilometres – equivalent to around 150 return trips to the moon.

In doing so, they have saved a total of £26m in avoided flight costs and reduced emissions by 32,000 tonnes of CO2. In addition, they are said to have realised some unexpected benefits, such as productivity gains from increased collaboration, faster decision making, and less time spent out of the office.

WWF said the methods used to reduce flights varied among the participants, indicating that the organisations use measures that work most effectively for their circumstances.

Some of the policies used include undertaking staff engagement programmes to set travel targets and question the need for corporate trips, as well as introducing requirements for corporate carbon reporting, increasing the use of remote conferencing, and replacing flights with rail travel.

David Nussbaum, chief executive of WWF-UK, said the results showed that companies profit from flying less.

“Reducing business flying in favour of lower carbon alternatives simply makes good business sense,” he added. “It is the smart way for organisations to stay connected in an increasingly carbon-constrained world.”

The trends seen in the report echo the bigger trend which has seen a drop in business air travel as communication technology becomes more advanced.

Figures published by the Civil Aviation Authority show business flying to and from Heathrow has fallen 23 per cent since 2000, while Office for National Statistics data indicates across the UK business air trips have fallen 13 per cent – a decline that began well before talk of a “capacity crunch” at UK airports and several years prior to the recession. In 2012, just 16 per cent of UK flights were taken for business purposes, compared to 22 per cent in 1998.

2011 WWF survey found 80 per cent of FTSE 500 companies are saving money from avoided flights and associated expenses and that only one in seven of the companies that have reduced their flights intend to return to their previous levels of flying. Meanwhile, video conferencing users are expected to soar from 36 million in 2011 to 219 million in 2016, according to figures from networking giant Cisco.

WWF argues these trends undermine the business case for a new runway at Heathrow, one of the preferred options of the ongoing Airports Commission review into airport capacity in the South East.

Nussbaum said: “WWF believes that business will continue to fly less – not more – in future and that decisions on UK airport capacity need to reflect this fact.”

http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/analysis/2324703/cancelling-corporate-flights-saves-companies-gbp2m