Sustainable Practices to Integrate Into Your Global Mobility Program

Sustainability is one of the fastest growing concerns in most industries, and is no stranger to the world of global mobility. Whether you work directly with your organization’s sustainability sector or you’re a global mobility manager trying to incorporate it into a policy, today it is more imperative that organizations take their environmental impact into consideration. While you create a mobile workforce by moving hundreds, and sometimes even thousands, of your employees around the world, remember these eco-friendly guidelines to be as environmentally conscious as possible.

Building a Sustainable Supplier Partner Environment

It is important to have a roster of high-quality supplier partners to create a comprehensive global mobility program. Some of the most critical supplier partners to have during a relocation are, naturally, moving companies. However, household goods transportation can be one of the biggest obstacles in creating a sustainable mobility program: according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, transportation accounts for around 28% of total greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized countries, and every gallon of gas burned by a vehicle is responsible for around 24 pounds of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses. So, how can you reduce your organization’s carbon footprint when the need for supplier partners is non-negotiable?

Household goods shipments

Shipping by train is an eco-friendly alternative to shipping employee belongings by truck. Planning ahead for your employees to ensure their goods are packed, loaded, and delivered on time is crucial when using an alternate shipping service. Did you know railcars can be purchased, leased from railcar manufacturers and owners, or supplied by a railroad?

• Railways consume up to 9x less energy per ton-miles traveled than trucks
• On average, trains are 4x more fuel-efficient
• They carry more freight at the same time
• They’re cheaper for long-distance
• They emit 75% fewer GHG emissions

Choose supplier partners with their own sustainability policies

You can make a huge difference in how green your global mobility program is by choosing supplier partners and vendors that prioritize sustainability, too. For example, choose a moving company that uses electric vehicles or trucks that are big enough to move everything in one trip. In the past few years, many supplier partners have made a commitment to being sustainable. If you’ve already chosen your network of supplier partners, inquire about their sustainability certifications, initiatives and efforts.

Prepare your employees to be sustainable

Just as you would prepare and onboard an assignee or transferee in their new role, it’s important to familiarize them with their host location. In an effort to make a positive impact on their new environment, global mobility counselors should prepare them for their travel options as well as make their relocation as sustainable as it can be. For example:

Encourage public transportation

Not only should your global mobility program provide the mobile employee with transportation options (bus routes, train routes, car services, etc.), but they should prioritize and encourage eco-friendly options to employees, especially in locations where personally-owned vehicles are not the norm.

Source: Our World in Data

Local recycling and waste management information

Educate your employee by providing them with any available information on their local recycling and waste management regulations and options. This is a step that an employee can overlook in the midst of relocating, but is essential to the fulfilment of an eco-friendly relocation.

Combine Pre-Assignment Trips

There are many pre-assignment tasks that need to get checked off before your employee relocates. Some of them include traveling for their home finding trip, visiting their host location for orientation, and consultations around the tax, visa, and immigration particulars of the home-host country combination.  By combining necessary pre-assignment tasks into as few trips as possible, you reduce hours in flight and in the car, and minimize your carbon footprint.

Go Paperless

Going paperless has been on the docket of eco-friendly initiatives for a long time, but it’s much more than just sending emails vs. paper copies. Building and maintaining a centralized digital data repository not only boosts efficiency, but also hosts all of your mobile workforce’s information and data in the most eco-friendly and efficient way. Did you know that Ineo’s tools offer complete data digitalization?

Digitalize your mobile workforce with global mobility tools

The Ineo Platform stores all of your data in one place: from tax documents, cost management, assignment status and more. our platform makes it easier to manage each employee’s assignment lifecycle, without the paper trail.

Even better, your mobile workforce can enjoy a sustainable tool as well – Voyager Assistant, Ineo’s new mobile app, provides assignees and transferees with access to their relocation documents, expense reimbursements, calendar, and more. Voyager Assistant makes it effortless for employees to track their reimbursement status and keep their important documents in one digital repository, all at the touch of their fingertips. To learn more about Voyager Assistant’s full functionalities, contact us today.

E-Communications

Even if you’re still sending faxes, letters, and paper copies of documents, come join us in 2023! One of the simplest ways to make an eco-friendly effort is to switch all of your documentation to an online database.

Is your mobile workforce and organization environmentally conscious?

Becoming a sustainable company isn’t an overnight process, and it starts with your leadership and management team making the first overtures. Instilling sustainability into your global mobility program and policies is a surefire way to echo how serious your company is about protecting the earth! Contact a member of the Ineo team today to learn more about how our tools and knowledge resources can help you grow sustainably!

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