4Sight

Four industry pros sound off on what is both challenging and promising about building sustainable solutions into the future of business travel.

The Workplace We Want

“More and more, people want to work for an organization whose values align with their own—and they want to see these sustainable values integrated across different functions, including travel.”

BCD Travel VP & Executive Chair of Sustainability Kathy Jackson

A November 2021 survey of 101 BCD Travel clients showed that 70 percent were prioritizing sustainability within their organizations.

Build Industry Standards

“Agreeing on best practices across the industry to measure sustainability efforts is an obvious gap as well as access to accurate, timely data for reporting purposes. You cannot set goals without the measures.”

GBTA SVP Sustainability
Delphine Millot

GBTA is currently working on a toolkit for the managed travel industry that will offer a standard set of sustainability metrics and guidance.

Travel is Essential

“There are no alternatives [to air travel] to get efficiently across an ocean, so we need to recognize that there is a valuable service with air travel—a value in human connection and exchange of ideas—but it must be responsibly managed.”

United Airlines Sr. Manager of Environmental Sustainability & Climate Rohini Sengupta

United Airlines has made significant investments in sustainable airline fuels and recently launched a sustainability reporting feature for corporate travel managers within its Jetstream portal.

How We Get There

“Climate change is a top priority for organizations worldwide. This [will mean] transitioning to less carbon-intensive modes of travel [and identifying] additional emissions reduction levers, including the use of sustainable aviation fuels, purchasing independently verified carbon credits, etc.”

BCG Global Head of Travel
Gehan Colliander

BCG has been a certified carbon-neutral company since 2018 and in 2020 committed to reaching net zero climate impact by 2030. The firm is investing in innovations like carbon sequestration in addition to reducing carbon emissions.