Institute of Travel Management Conference
Business as usual is not an option for the travel industry and those who want the environment off the agenda face commercial ruin, the former director of Friends of the Earth and environmental advisor to the Government warned.
Jonathon Porritt, chairman of sustainable development charity Forum for the Future, told delegates: “A very different world is opening in front of you. This is not a small, cosmetic change, it is a transformation.
“The agenda is changing and politicians are beginning to get their heads around this. The spat between [environment secretary] Miliband and [Tory leader] Cameron was not just for show. This is the politics of the future.
“Some people wish the agenda would go away or slow down. But those who do not change will die commercially in a carbon-constrained world.”
HSBC head of business travel Tony Pilcher followed Porritt by attacking the notion that carbon offsetting will stop global warming and called for legislation to force companies to do more.
“Offsetting is not the answer to climate change,” he said. “The issue is about changing behaviour not buying your way out of environmental responsibility.
“A lot of companies are not doing anything so legislation has to play a part.”
Portman Travel marketing director Bob Govan said stressing a commitment to corporate social responsibility would soon become meaningless.
He said: “The real challenge is to develop a business model so socially robust there is no need to demonstrate your green credentials.”