American Express Global Business Travel has joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, a standard-setting and accreditation alliance created jointly by the United Nations and a number of environmental conservation organizations, the company announced.
As a member of the GSTC, Amex GBT initially will focus on highlighting and promoting hotels that meet sustainability standards to corporate clients of its Global Business Consulting advisory during their sourcing activities. Future plans call for the travel management company to incorporate GSTC sustainability analytics into clients' booking process to enable travelers to identify and select GSTC-approved hotels. With GBT clients collectively booking "millions" of room nights each year, the total environmental impact of driving more sustainable sourcing and bookings "could be massive," according to the TMC.
The GSTC membership is the latest sustainability-focused step GBT has taken in 2021, following the January rollout of a carbon-offset purchase program for corporate clients and the appointment of its first global sustainability vice president in April.