3 practical steps for a greener corporate travel programme

Kiran Sidhu
Kiran Sidhu
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According to the Global Business Travel Association’s report on The State of Sustainability in the Global Business Travel Sector, 60% of stakeholders claim that their businesses have sustainability teams and programs for corporate travel management. 76% already have or plan to adopt eco-friendly practices in their corporate travel program. 

These figures suggest that corporate organisations are becoming more awake to environmental concerns in their travel practices, especially in reporting and measuring impacts, engaging employees, and adopting technology to help enhance sustainability.

However, there is evidence that much still needs to be done to make people travel greener. For instance, more than a third of poll respondents do not believe the sustainability sector has advanced much. Specifically, the major areas of concern are aviation (58%) and vehicle services (41%). More so, many respondents identify how third parties such as travel agencies and corporate travel managers are bottlenecks to achieving business travel sustainability. 

The rest of this piece explains practical steps that companies can take to go greener faster in their corporate travel experience. This requires business leaders and travel managers to change their approach as regards planning trips, collaborating with partners, and choosing transport modes.

Plan travels mindfully

Particularly, virtual meetings save money on airfare and hotel costs, and they also reduce carbon emissions because fewer people are travelling or attending the event. Business leaders should note, that the benefits of going virtual go beyond the practical side of things. This helps push forth a greener corporate travel program for your company.

There are several good arguments to be made for on-site meetings, where travelling is required. However, the appeal of having virtual meetings as an option helps us to prioritise meeting objectives over location, while acknowledging that location-mandatory meetings could come up every now and then. 

In short, not every business trip is necessary. Travel can be an important part of business strategy — but it’s not always necessary or beneficial for everyone on your team to attend every meeting or event. If you are able to plan ahead and find alternatives, then you will have less need for travel. 

This does not mean adopting a blanket travel policy to arbitrarily limit business trips in your company. It only means that when travelling for meetings becomes essential, purposeful travel is paramount and such trips should align with the company’s overall goal of becoming environmentally sustainable. 

Prioritise sustainable partners and suppliers 

According to the GBTA report, 78% of industry experts want businesses to adopt corporate travel programs that prioritise suppliers who possess sustainability certification. 

More so, 73% want businesses to only book flights with airlines that use sustainable aviation fuel. These practices embrace opportunities for practical change in sustainable business travel management. 

When it comes to the factors business travellers look out for in adopting suppliers and partners, this includes practices such as investments in efficient technologies, clean waste management and recycling, as well as clean energy investments. A good percentage of respondents to the GBTA poll (68%) also want suppliers to dedicate their R&D efforts toward eco-friendly travel technologies. 

Between all of these activities, it is obvious that corporate travel providers have uphill tasks in maintaining sustainable partnerships with the increasing number of businesses, travel managers, and HR leaders that show concern for environmentally-conscious efforts. 

Choose lower CO2 transport modes 

Ultimately, in planning a corporate travel program, every company must adopt behaviours that put less strain on the environment in terms of CO2 emissions. 

According to industry experts polled by the GBTA, the most important habits that businesses should encourage include prioritising SAF flights, preferring public transportation, and preferring electric vehicles over conventional ones. 

However, it is also notable that, in developing a corporate travel program, both travel buyers and suppliers equally agree concerning the importance of adopting multi-modal travel options, where more land transportation options (such as rails) are prioritised over air travel. 

In any case, European stakeholders are more likely to prefer multimodality, due to well-established rail networks in and across European countries. This is the way to go, especially when most travel suppliers are against blanket policies to reduce business travel.

Beyond transportation, though, HR leaders and travel buyers are also looking toward greener options across the entire travel chain. For instance, 81% of industry stakeholders recommend that businesses should tilt towards energy-efficient hotels and event venues more than any other option. Another sizable percentage (67%) want businesses to consider sustainable food options. This points to the fact that companies that want to build sustainable a corporate travel program must think beyond transport activities and adopt a broad travel policy that cuts across the entire course of trip planning. 


Need help in achieving greener business travel? 

With climate change and other environmental issues looming larger and larger every day, sustainability is more important than ever. If your business is going to survive, it’ll need to adapt and adjust to a more green-friendly way of doing things. The steps described in this article will provide business leaders with concrete ways they can introduce meaningful changes in their corporate programs today. To discover how TruTrip can help you create better travel experiences for your team sign up for a free trial