Skip to content
Menu
esg

The Importance of ESG in
Business School Travel Programs

 

Screen Shot 2022-12-07 at 22.11.23

As part of our commitment to the environment and society at large, we have considered key areas we can positively impact and started to take action.

Our first step was to look at our corporate footprint, measure it, find ways to reduce our carbon emissions, and then purchase carbon credits to offset them through a partnership with Moss Earth. 

We are looking at incorporating this into the operations and delivery of our travel programs for our university partners.

To truly integrate ESG into business school global immersion programs, we need to do more than offset carbon emissions. We must take a holistic approach that considers all aspects of the academic travel footprint by carefully choosing our local service providers and the educational content we share with students. This includes everything from the way we vet our providers and book flights and accommodations to the types of events we present during our academic travel programs.

Given what we do at Austral Education Group, we also have a natural opportunity to contribute to scaling sustainable practices and inspiring responsible leadership through education with the content of our business meetings and site visits during our programs.


Check out these specific steps we are taking to integrate ESG into our travel programs operations:

 

Encourage business schools to choose eco-friendly transportation options, such as trains, electric vehicles, or walking to group activities whenever possible.

 

 

Eliminate single-use plastic bottles from our programs.

 

 

Offering meals at restaurants that serve local, in-season ingredients.

 

 

Purchase or offer for students to purchase carbon offsets for air travel.

 

Require hotels and conference venues to meet certain sustainability criteria, such as LEED certification or energy efficiency standards.

 

Educate our service providers to be more inclusive, for example, taking special consideration when dealing with persons with disabilities.

 

Diversify the events and activities in business school travel programs, including diversity in topics and speaker representation.

 

Include project-based learning with high-impact businesses, B corps as well as service learning activities where students can see other realities and make a difference.

Encourage business schools to choose eco-friendly transportation options, such as trains, electric vehicles, or walking to group activities whenever possible.

 

Eliminate single-use plastic bottles from our programs.

 

Offering meals at restaurants that serve local, in-season ingredients.

 

Purchase or offer for students to purchase carbon offsets for air travel.

Require hotels and conference venues to meet certain sustainability criteria, such as LEED certification or energy efficiency standards.

Educate our service providers to be more inclusive, for example, taking special consideration when dealing with persons with disabilities.

Diversify the events and activities in business school travel programs, including diversity in topics and speaker representation.

Encourage business schools to choose eco-friendly transportation options, such as trains, electric vehicles, or walking to group activities whenever possible.

There is still much work to be done to make business school travel more sustainable.  It is important to consider your program’s environmental and social impact, especially when traveling around the world and in certain countries or regions where infrastructure and culture can vary greatly and make it more challenging to achieve certain KPIs. However, by committing to our ESG standards we can help make significant progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN 2030 agenda. Doing so will benefit our environment and our communities and help ensure that future generations of business leaders are inspired and prepared to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

As the world becomes increasingly focused on climate change and social responsibility, it’s more important than ever for businesses -and business schools- to adopt sustainable and ethical practices. 

Whatever steps you take, remember that every bit counts for making our world better!