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Balfour Beatty Capital's travel diary

Travel is increasingly recognised as a major contributor to increasing the carbon footprint of many businesses.

In an effort to understand the level of CO₂ emissions created, Balfour Beatty Capital undertook pilot studies during June and November last year.

Environmental Manager Tom Lawson explained that it was first necessary to capture the data to establish current levels and then to consider the best means to reduce CO₂ emissions.

As part of the work, all staff were asked to record all their mileage and the method of transport used during the period. The results demonstrated that every month Balfour Beatty Capital people travel some 150,000 miles, the majority by air. This translates to 35,000kg of CO₂ emitted to the atmosphere every month.

The next step according to Tom is to look at the development of a travel policy to encourage the use of forms of travel that emit lower levels of CO₂ , such as trains, trams and the underground.

At the same time the company is monitoring other environmental aspects, including energy use, paper use and its suppliers to assess its total carbon footprint. It is considering restoring the carbon balance with the aim of becoming "carbon neutral" by working with concession companies to identify areas where new tree planting can take place to offset carbon emissions.

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