When most people think about sustainable travel, they picture reusable water bottles and carbon offset schemes. My perspective is different, I work at an airport, where the tension between aviation and environmental responsibility plays out every single day. That proximity to the problem has not made me cynical. If anything, it has made me more determined to be part of the solution.
My commitment began before I even boarded a plane. To attend my pre-departure preparation in Manchester, I chose to travel by coach rather than drive or fly. Coach travel produces significantly lower CO₂ emissions per passenger than private cars, making it one of the most carbon-efficient forms of land transport available (Our World in Data, 2023). It was a small but deliberate choice. Sustainability is not reserved for grand gestures it lives in the everyday decisions we make.
Those values have been shaped by my work at an airport. Every day, I am surrounded by jet fuel, ground support equipment, and an industry that knows it must change. Aviation contributes around 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions (Our World in Data, 2023), and working within that ecosystem has made sustainability feel less like an abstract ideal and more like an urgent, practical reality I am personally invested in.
But I have also witnessed genuine progress. The majority of vehicles in our ground operations are now electric reducing localised emissions and improving air quality for workers. This reflects UN SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 9, which champions sustainable industrial innovation (United Nations, 2024). Seeing decarbonisation happen in real time has strengthened my belief that systemic change is achievable.
In Asia, I will continue making conscious choices using public transport, refusing single-use plastics, and prioritising locally sourced food to reduce demand on carbon-heavy supply chains. These habits align with SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption) (United Nations, 2024). Asian cities are global leaders in public transit, and embracing those systems is both an environmental choice and a way of engaging authentically with the places I visit.
My Business/Finance background pushes me to think beyond personal habits. I want to understand how green finance and ESG frameworks can direct capital toward accelerating aviation’s decarbonisation globally. The financial sector has an enormous role in funding the technology and infrastructure that industries like aviation urgently need connecting directly with SDG 17, which promotes the partnerships and finance mechanisms that make sustainable development possible at scale (United Nations, 2024).
From a coach to Manchester, to electric vehicles on an airport apron, to the streets of Asia — every leg of this journey is a chance to travel more lightly and act with greater purpose. That is the mindset I will carry with me.
Our World in Data (2023). Travel Carbon Footprint. https://ourworldindata.org/travel-carbon-footprint
Our World in Data (2023). CO₂ Emissions from Aviation. https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-aviation
United Nations (2024). Sustainable Development Goals. https://sdgs.un.org/goals
