In 2019, we criss-crossed the globe covering more than 250,000 miles to work with our clients.
Since our founding, we estimate our total air travel at close to 2.4 million miles.
Beyond the physical wear and tear on our team, this much air travel produces between 81-120 tons of CO2 per year (the average traveler produces about 15 tons of CO2 each year).
And now more than ever, with global pathogens like the deadly and fast-spreading coronavirus, we all need to take steps to minimize our negative impacts in the world.
At Common Ground, we believe in the value of relationships. Building high-touch, high-trust relationships has been central to our approach from the start. We also know the best ways to spark trust-building occur when we are sitting together face-to-face, sharing a meal, having a drink, and discussing tough issues.
Physically being together in the same space is powerful, it is important, and it will alway be a part of our work—especially in the early stages of a new engagement.
Yet over the past few years, we have been looking carefully at how we can adapt aspects of our work to reduce the negative impacts of travel (including fast-rising costs), while still ensuring the transformative outcomes that we expect our work to achieve. In fact, we have already successfully piloted several innovative methodologies that are meeting and exceeding expectations.
In order to give you an idea of the ways our work is already changing and how it may align with your organization’s needs, we’ve outlined several of these evolving strategies in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth … these are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security, and women’s empowerment. Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all.