The Triple Bottom Line Blog

There are moments when you can actually see and feel a trend reaching escape velocity. That seems to be happening now with environmental concerns over air travel.

The signs are everywhere. They include criticism in the media of last weekend's Live Earth concerts on the ground that having stars traverse the world, sometimes in private jets, to reach performing venues sets a terrible example for those concerned about climate change. Other related news items just from the last forty-eight hours include:

• On the Business of Green blog hosted on the website of the International Herald Tribune, James Kanter notes that the British Centre for Alternative Technology has proposed that domestic air travel in the UK be restricted to emergency uses only, while an activist group known as The Camp for Climate Action is threatening to disrupt flights out of London's Heathrow Airport this summer.
  
• A recent survey of business travelers finds that 97 percent believe air travel has "a high impact on the environment" compared to other factors--and that 84 percent agree that corporations aren't doing enough to address the problem.
  
• Meanwhile, in what it hopes will be a pre-emptive defensive move, aircraft maker Boeing is touting its just-unveiled 787 as the most environmentally-friendly jumbo jet yet, claiming 20 percent greater fuel efficiency, reduced carbon emissions, and a 60 percent cut in noise pollution.


• At ClimateChangeCorp.com, Tobias Webb reports that the British airline Flybe is mounting a major marketing effort built entirely around creating a green image through $2 billion in investment in less-wasteful aircraft, a promise to purchase carbon offsets, and a plan to introduce "eco-labeling" (audited by Deloitte) to allow travelers to choose flights based on their environmental impact.

If worries over the environmental impact of air travel continue to gain visibility and momentum, the industries affected will include not only the obvious ones (airlines and aircraft manufacturers) but many others in travel and tourism: hotels, resorts, restaurants, theme parks, casinos, cruise lines, travel agencies, and service providers like American Express.

All these business categories suffered during the travel slump following 9/11. Smart managers in affected companies should be taking positive steps now to respond to the environmental challenge, whose effects may be just as deep and perhaps more long-lasting than those of the great terrorism scare.

Labels: airlines, Climate and Carbon