Sustainability & Sourcing

More and more companies are realizing that today's consumers expect the brands they do business with not only to provide quality goods or services but also to be socially and environmentally responsible in their business practices. Implementing and executing a successful corporate social responsibility plan can impact every aspect of a company—from improving client, vendor and customer relationships to attracting high-quality talent to providing cost savings to the bottom line.

In January, the Global Business Travel Association and AIG Travel partnered on an online survey of 90 travel managers in the U.S. and Canada about their companies' sustainability practices both in general and specific to their travel and meetings/events programs. The research revealed that 53 percent of travel managers report their companies have formal corporate sustainability programs, but one in five did not know if their company had a CSR program in place. "Many companies are taking a holistic approach to improving what some call the triple bottom line—comprised of social, environmental and financial factors—or the three Ps, which is people, planet and profits," said Kate Vasiloff, GBTA research director. "Travel management professionals are uniquely positioned to take a leadership role within their organizations when it comes to making environmentally-conscious travel policies, vendor and supplier selections and options for travelers."

There is a huge opportunity for businesses to adopt and even incentivize more sustainable travel practices. Only 16 percent of travel management professionals incentivize their business travelers to stay in hotels with sustainable practices, such as automatic light shutoff, low-flow-shower systems and not replacing towels and sheets every day. Even fewer, 4 percent, require travelers to book with suppliers that have sustainable practices. Incorporating more sustainable practices into travel policies can impact an organization's bottom line and improve its carbon footprint. A few ways:

• Encourage travelers to use rail instead of air for trips under a certain mileage. Seventy percent reported this was not addressed in their travel policies, and only 1 percent require it.
• Require travelers to either fly direct—only 5 percent require this—or link trips together to reduce the number of round-trips, thus reducing carbon emissions.
• Book travelers on public transportation, such as commuter rail, where available.
• Ask colleagues to share rides to and from airports.

Measuring and reducing carbon emissions from business travel is an important piece of a CSR program, as air travel, particularly, has a large impact on climate change, according to a post on the David Suzuki Foundation website called Air Travel and Climate Change. Among those AIG Travel and GBTA surveyed, 37 percent reported that their companies track the carbon footprints of their travelers. Twenty-three percent use a sustainability index or scorecard to understand the sustainability practices of their key suppliers, but only 7 percent set carbon emission-reduction targets for their travel management companies. Travel managers most likely have access to the tools their TMCs already have in place, such as CO2 emission calculators, to help them measure traveler carbon footprints and make more informed, or hopefully green, travel decisions.

"Travel is more accessible today than ever before, and with this access comes a responsibility to positively impact the places we visit, whether for business or for leisure" said Jeff Rutledge, CEO of AIG Travel. "Companies all over the world are proving that sustainable growth is possible while also protecting local communities and reducing the impact on our environment."