In 2017, our International Management Team agreed upon the following key travel principles:
Flying is the last resort. Rikolto staff should always look first for alternatives to travelling by plane.
When considering the options, look at distance, but also time. Sometimes travelling by car or public transport takes too long and can be exhausting. Travel time for staff should also be taken into account, as it might significantly reduce the time available for programme activities.
If you fly, you compensate. We always carbon offset the trips made by our staff. Non-staff are invited to do the same. Compensation will be invested into a specific Rikolto project aimed at climate change mitigation. Rikolto’s sustainability working group (one staff member from each office) decides on how the money is allocated.
And then, COVID came along. In 2020, our air travels were, not surprisingly, significantly lower than in 2019 and 2018.