Sustainability has become a corporate travel priority for nine out of 10 companies, according to research by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).
But increased costs, limited data and lack of transparent information present barriers to making business travel more sustainable and collaboration will be critical, a GBTA report on ‘The State of Sustainability in the Global Business Travel Sector’ concludes.
The report is based on a three-month study among GBTA members and stakeholders which found nine out of 10 (89%) reporting sustainability is already a priority for their company.
The figures varied by region from 99% in Asia Pacific and 97% in Europe to 91% in Latin America and 84% in North America.
Nine out of ten respondents (88%) said addressing climate change was the number-one priority and the same proportion ranked reducing corporate travel greenhouse gas emissions as the top priority in the next two to three years.
However, only 14% thought the industry currently well advanced on sustainability.
Eight out of 10 GBTA respondents (82%) identified higher costs as among the biggest barriers to more sustainable business travel management practices, and 63% a lack of transparent information and data.
However, two-thirds (62%) of external stakeholders cited lack of interest among some industry stakeholders.
Three quarters (76%) of travel buyers said they plan to incorporate sustainability objectives in travel policies if they have not already.
Half (55%) of respondents said they are already measuring and reporting on the environmental impact of business travel activities and four out of five (80%) reported having a sustainability team and/or sustainability programme in place.
Respondents identified prioritising energy efficient accommodation (81%) and suppliers with sustainability certification (78%) as the actions with most impact, followed by flights using sustainable aviation fuel (73%).
Seven out of 10 buyers (73%) supported encouraging or mandating fewer business trips. However, 60% of suppliers said they would not encourage a reduction in travel.
Respondents in Europe were much more likely to support travelling less and multimodal travel options than those in North America.
Perhaps surprisingly, longer travel times were more likely to be seen as a barrier by those outside the industry (41%) than by industry respondents (32%).
GBTA senior vice president for sustainability Delphine Millot said: “There is no longer debate about whether we should engage in sustainable actions for business travel. Investing in sustainable solutions must be part of our game plan today to make sure we can travel for business tomorrow.
“This is only possible if our industry joins forces across our full value chain and with external stakeholders including governments to adopt ambitious targets, drive green investments and accelerate the uptake of clean technologies.”
Suzanne Neufang, GBTA chief executive, added: “The industry must ensure people can effectively connect in-person and conduct business globally while doing what is right for society and the planet.”
GBTA surveyed 762 global business travel professionals in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia-Pacific between January and March 2022, plus 100 external stakeholders including policymakers, think tanks and non-profit organisations.