On our way to more sustainable travel

Sustainability coordinator Take Padding recently travelled to Rome by train for business himself. Flying to Rome would have been the more obvious choice, but Take wanted to set the right example. ‘Our sustainability motto is “Walk Our Talk”: we put our policy into practice in our operational management.'

Mission Sustainable

The aim of BZ’s Mission Sustainable programme is clear: to make our operational management more sustainable. We hope it will set a good example for other public authorities, businesses and organisations in the Netherlands and abroad. Our staff started by identifying the things that would have the biggest impact on sustainability in our operational management. Three themes emerged from that process: climate change, the circular economy and supply chain responsibility.

Within the ‘climate change’ theme, mobility was one of the biggest culprits. ‘Our job requires regular travel; that’s not something we can just stop doing. But we do need to assess our travel behaviour much more critically and see what changes we can make,’ Take says.

Sustainable travel

Last November, Mission Sustainable launched the Sustainable Travel project group. Its members represent a wide range of BZ staff at every level, including policy departments, missions and operational management departments. Over the next six months the project group will discuss the options for sustainable travel, after which it will draw up its recommendations.

Take explains that meeting in person is obviously crucial in the business of foreign affairs.“Diplomacy is a contact sport.” If we need to fly to New York for our work, that is what we do. It’s important to consider whether we could join a meeting digitally instead. But if that’s not an option, we travel as sustainably as possible. Is it really necessary for several colleagues to go, for example? Can we travel economy rather than business class?’

Travelpoint

The launch of Travelpoint also creates opportunities. This summer, BZ will launch this new travel and expenses platform, which offers sustainable options: train journeys will be included in the system alongside flights.

Travelling by train is not always an easy option, however. European connections often aren’t great, as Take himself discovered during his Rome trip. You can fly direct from the Netherlands to the Italian capital, but there’s no direct route by train. The ministry maintains close contacts with Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) and railway carriers NS and Benerail in order to further optimise the booking system’s sustainable options.

Travelpoint manager Bas de Rijk elaborates: ‘Together with the Travelpoint system supplier and the Mission Sustainable team, we’re already looking into what people want when it comes to sustainable travel, how we can show sustainable options as preferred options, and what reporting options we will be offering in terms of sustainability. Many of the train travel options in Europe will soon be on offer in Travelpoint. What’s more, the application will recommend the sustainable option if the destination can be reached by train in less than eight hours. The fact is, our travel policy makes train travel compulsory for trips under eight hours.’

Take applauds the launch of Travelpoint and the sustainable travel recommendations it will offer. He hopes that BZ staff will talk to each other more often about sustainability and the impact it has on their work. ‘We want to bring about behavioural change, to make sustainability something that’s firmly on everyone’s mind. Broad support is crucial, because an approach will only succeed if it has the support of staff. This is why we’ve involved them so closely in drawing up our approach.’

Travelling by train

In fact, people are already talking to each other about this subject – people like Saskia de Smidt and her colleagues at the International Enterprise Department (DIO). Saskia and her colleagues regularly travel abroad to provide support for trade missions and economic diplomacy: their work helps Dutch companies expand their networks and export markets.

Saskia’s portfolio used to include Latin America, which of course involved regular air travel. But a year ago, she assumed responsibility for Austria and Switzerland, and her preference is to travel to these destinations by train. ‘We have to travel to explore ways of promoting trade with other countries and identify opportunities for the Dutch business community, but I prefer to do this as sustainably as possible. I try to stay mindful of any opportunity to preserve nature and the environment. Making my BZ travel more sustainable certainly helps.’

While Saskia’s main reason for choosing the train is sustainability, she also finds it more enjoyable. ‘This way you get to see the country you’re travelling through, and the train takes you right to the city centre. I also find trains more comfortable than planes. You can move around more, take a walk to another compartment, or take out your laptop to get some work done. My colleagues feel the same way.’

She often speaks to her colleagues and other staff at the ministry about the options for sustainable travel. For a long time, however, the booking system stood in the way, so she’s delighted about the new Travelpoint platform. ‘It’s also enormously helpful that the booking system offers more good train connections as standard, including night trains. This makes sustainable travel easier for everyone.’