GTMC Conference 2007
Travel management companies have been told to advise their clients against unnecessary travel and not wait to be asked about measures to cut carbon-dioxide emissions.Hannah Bodilly, senior purchasing manager in Europe for wine company Ernst & Julio Gallo, said: “I want my TMC to help me be green, to highlight carbon emissions and how to mitigate them.”
Fellow travel buyer Arantxa Rodriguez, commercial manager for Vodafone UK, said: “I don’t see people in this industry being proactive. I want TMCs to ask, ‘Is it necessary to travel? Have you thought of video conferencing?’ Help us to be more green – don’t wait for us to ask.”
The point was echoed by Institute of Travel Management executive director Paul Tilstone who said: “People travel by default at present rather than think, ‘Do I really need to go?’ TMCs should challenge people as to whether a trip is necessary.”
Tilstone, who said the environmental cost of a journey should be presented upfront at the point of sale, also demanded that carbon-reporting by TMCs become standard and guidelines on environmental travel policies put in place.