Global warming is real and corporate social responsibility goals are recognizing that.
A report last month that showed employers’ focus on meeting their CSR goals is pervasive as ever. A third of U.S. employers surveyed said they need to reduce travel per employee by more than 20% by 2030 to meet sustainability targets.
“Travel, in general, attracts attention as a significant contributor to carbon emissions,” Deloitte reported, also pointing out that sustainable providers exist, but they are usually more expensive.
This comes at a time when companies are letting workers go at a rapid and massive clip in response to the looming recession.
In 2022, layoffs and discharges jumped to 17.6 million and accounted for 24.3 percent of total separations. As previously reported by ESSENCE, Tech companies both large and small have cut jobs, including Meta, Twitter and Netflix, which cited the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and overhiring during rapid growth periods. Other tech giants like Robinhood, Glossier and Better are a part of a growing list that are continually letting people go.
Recent data from LinkedIn shows that fintech has also been trimming their workforce. Forbes reported that Chicago-based debit card company M1, reduced its team of 369 people to 349 in one month. Neobank reported a slight decrease in employees on LinkedIn as well. PointCard, a debit rewards startup reported 105 employees in January and now it’s down to 61.
Companies are scrambling to save money and the planet as inflation rages on and climate change rages on. Cutting down on travel is a dual solution. The average three-day domestic trip costs between $990-$1,293. While the average international trip costs an average of $2,600 or more. What’s more a typical business with revenues of $2300000/yr has a carbon footprint of 29 metric tons of CO2e per year from supply chains.