Even employee expenses create a carbon footprint!

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We all leave a carbon print, an invisible trace of destructive emissions created by doing everyday activities. The amount of emissions you create depends on the amount of energy and resources you use. Today, the average UK individual uses 5013 units of carbon emissions which ideally should be reduced to 2500.

There are many ways you can reduce your carbon footprint, but you probably didn’t realise that implementing an effective employee expenses policy could be a big part of the solution!

Paperless expenses

Using an automated solution will reduce the amount of paperwork used in the process. Claimants simply submit their claims and have them approved and processed online.

The knock on effect is a reduction in the amount of external post being delivered reducing your part in the postal services vehicle and sorting machine emissions. Even internal post is reduced, saving the emissions from the manufacturer of paper and printing.

Furthermore, automated expenses drastically reduce the amount of people and resources required to process an employee’s claim.

The Biggest Culprit

Business travel produces the highest amount of carbon emissions. Whether it’s a simple car journey or a flight to another country these greenhouse gases are contributing to the world’s demise.

Offsetting these emissions is a huge task, but reducing them is not as hard as you would first imagine.

The first step to understand is where your employees travel to and if the business trip is necessary. An automated system stores all expense claims and allows you to analyse them. By understanding this data we can make the following recommendations:

  1. Online Communications - With today’s technologies you can communicate just as effectively using online software and telecommunications and whilst the personal touch is preferable, many businesses now appreciate the efforts made by others to reduce the carbon footprint.
  2. Public Transport - Although public transport is rarely convenient, comfortable or on time; encouraging its use by giving your employee incentives could be an effective way to increase this method.
  3. Car Sharing – Ensuring employees travel to the same location travel together.
  4. Environmentally Friendly Cars - Tax incentives introduced in this year’s Budget will benefit firms that purchase cleaner, more fuel- efficient models.
  5. Consolidating Business Meetings – Possibly the biggest savings can be made on ensuring your employees travel in a sensible fashion, group the meetings in the same areas rather than randomly travelling around the country.
  6. Flights - Many airlines now actively participate in programs designed to offset their passenger’s carbon emissions. By researching the airline you’re using you can find out what there environmental policy is and decide, based on this criteria, which airline you are going to use.

Policy Implementations

Your first step in reducing the total emissions, caused through employee expenses, is to implement a new corporate policy that supports the environmentally-friendly options available. With an automated solution this policy can be accessed by all employees online and any changes to policy can be immediately implemented.

These ‘green’ policies could include:

  1. Limiting the hotel chains an employee can stay in to those that have a ‘green’ environmental policy
  2. Limiting the airlines employees can use to those that offset their passengers carbon footprint
  3. Disallowing the use of taxi’s when other public transport methods are available
  4. Review the mileage rate paid to be capped at the equivalent public transport fare for the journey
  5. When two or more people are travelling to the same location, car sharing must be mandatory
Other ways your employees can reduce their carbon emissions is by:

  1. Take meals at local restaurants that use local produce
  2. When staying for more than one night in a hotel employees can request not to have their bed linen and towels changed daily
  3. Hold events onsite or at local venues to reduce travel and extra resources
  4. Utilise online resources to conduct meetings and send documentation

If you would like to understand how expenses, our online expenses management solution, will help reduce your carbon emissions and the time to process expenses payments, contact us today