STUDY: Most businesses aren’t serious about greener travel

Business People Airport Terminal Travel Departure Concept

Despite mounting public pressure, new research has found the majority of businesses aren’t serious about becoming greener when it comes to travel.

American Express Global Business Travel’s report, Green Travel: Approach to Integrating Sustainability in Business Travel, found 78 per cent of businesses surveyed in 2019 do not currently address reducing GHG emissions in their travel policies.

While 47 per cent of businesses surveyed have a formal environmental sustainability policy in their organisations that covers indirect GHG emissions (which include business travel), only 42 per cent factor environmental sustainability in their air sourcing processes, and fewer do in their ground transport and hotel sourcing.

In addition, 79 per cent of businesses surveyed do not require their preferred airlines to have environmental certification. A quarter of respondents use third parties such as travel management companies to help reduce their carbon emissions.

The report also found that only 42 per cent of respondents currently measure carbon emissions from air travel. This was largely because sustainability initiatives focus on direct emissions from core business activities.

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