Changing travel culture for lasting impact

Overview

A global pharmaceutical company used the pandemic as a springboard to reshape travel behaviours, reducing unnecessary trips while empowering employees with choice.

Find out how we used our expertise in Communications, Change and Listening to help spark this cultural shift and achieve standout results…

The challenge

The company saw the pandemic travel restrictions as an opportunity to make lasting change. Internal travel – mainly for meetings – accounted for 70% of spend. The challenge was to:

• Reduce unnecessary business travel without demonising it
• Empower employees to make informed choices, respecting a culture of autonomy
• Sustain change once restrictions lifted

The solution

We combined behavioural science with creative employee engagement to reframe travel decisions.

• Listening first: Surveys, interviews, and focus groups with frequent travellers and travel coordinators revealed attitudes, concerns, and opportunities for change. We surveyed 270 frequent business employees and found a surprising truth: people wanted to travel less – but were reluctant to say it.
• From insight to creative: Our creative campaigns celebrated both virtual and in-person connection, positioning travel as a conscious choice rather than the default and supporting informed decision-making. We shifted the focus: no guilt about carbon; instead, we created simple engagement tools grounded in behavioural science – empowering choice, not enforcing rules.
• Engagement tools: Films, screensavers, email signatures, and digital badges enabled employees to signal preferences. Senior leaders reinforced permission to choose virtual over travel.

The value created

The campaign reached 13 countries in 2022 and within the first year achieved a 52% reduction in travel spend compared with 2019 – equating to £130 million saved.

Beyond financial impact, it also created a reduction of 12 million tonnes of CO₂, contributing significantly to sustainability goals.

This campaign helped employees embrace new norms around travel, fostering a more sustainable, empowered, and thoughtful culture around when and how to meet.

This project was recognised by the Institute of Internal Communication (IoIC) for Best Change/Transformation.