WORLDWIDE: The GBTA Foundation, an arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), has unveiled its Sustainable Business Travel Transition Pathway with one expert calling what lies ahead as a “generational challenge” but one that is possible for the business travel sector to lead the way.
The pathway was revealed at the GBTA Sustainability Summit, which gathered more than hundred travel leaders and sustainability experts together in Washington DC.
While business travel is a USD$1.48 trillion industry it also contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, making it a key focus area for corporate sustainability efforts.
As regulations change and companies commit to emissions reduction goals, integrating sustainability into business travel is a necessity.
The transition pathway, developed in collaboration with Accenture, aims to support efforts by organisations of all sizes and in all geographies, to start, advance and accelerate their sustainable travel practices.
It will also directly help companies participating in the GBTA Sustainability Acceleration Challenge improve their travel programme’s maturity levels and sustainability score with a 2030 horizon.
Delphine Millot, SSCP, Advocacy and Sustainability, GBTA, and managing director at the GBTA Foundation said: “Even in times of economic uncertainty and a changing political climate, one thing remains certain: sustainable business is good business.
“The transition pathway provides companies across the world with the insights and tools needed to embed sustainable travel practices at every level of their operating model.”
To help coordinate action globally to tackle business travel emissions, the GBTA Foundation launched the Sustainability Acceleration Challenge in 2024. More than 240 companies participated, representing USD$14 billion in annual business travel spend.
The overall global sustainability maturity score – which ranks the current state of climate action from 0 denoting “no activity” to 5 denoting “leading practice” – stands at 1.3 out of 5.
This demonstrated that while some action is being taken and planned, there is an urgent need to turn commitments into real impact.
The transition pathway now highlights the biggest opportunities to advance climate action in business travel including sending a stronger message for sustainability to travel suppliers, scaling the market for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and enabling travellers to book lower-emissions trips.
Dr. Jesko-Philipp Neuenburg, global travel and aviation sustainability lead at Accenture said: “The road to decarbonisation is a generational challenge, and the business travel sector can help lead the way. Through our work with GBTA and insights from over 240 companies, we’ve built a practical and adaptable pathway to give businesses at any stage the toolkit to help decarbonize their travel. Securing the sustainability results we need will require action and momentum from all players through the rest of this decade.”
The free whitepaper Transition Pathway to Sustainable Business Travel is available to download.
Photo by Andy Beales on Unsplash
The GBTA is a partner with the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, see below.