Is it time to park the plane?

The consumption of too much negative news, apparently leads to a loss of empowerment, agency and self-efficacy. If we perceive that we are in the end of days, we are likely to become more passive and incapable of taking positive action. Which is one of the reasons why the young Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg has captured our imaginations. Here is a young lady speaking truth to power and telling us all to wake up!

If the basis of self-efficacy is a belief that through our actions and behavior, we are able to make a positive difference, what does this mean in practice? Eating less red meat and reducing air travel are apparently the two biggest steps.

Perhaps every business should appoint a Chief Environment Officer (yes, ideally the CEO) to ask the important questions. Is it really necessary that we fly executives around the world quite so much? Can we use Skype and technology to reduce this? Are the barriers to reducing air travel real, or more about culture and perception? Can we eliminate the macho bullshit about being seen to be on the red-eye as often as possible to prove work ethic?

Global warming is only one facet of a multi-dimensional problem, and business travel is only one contributor to it. But It is only by asking the difficult questions that meaningful change can come about. Of course business travel is essential in many cases, but by how much could it be reduced? 10, 20, 30, 40 or even 50% perhaps?

Greta Thunberg, David Attenborough and the vast majority of Scientists believe that we are sleep walking towards disaster. What can we as individuals and businesses do to make a difference? Believing that we can is the starting point. Changing travel patterns, where we source our energy and raw materials and how our supply chains operate are some areas of consideration. Our politicians are bogged down in one issue. Perhaps it is time for business leaders to drive the agenda?