DATABANK
The data that shows buyers' changing attitudes to sustainable travel
The need to reduce the environmental impact of business travel is not a new priority, but the Covid-19 pandemic has had the perhaps unexpected effect of accelerating corporates' efforts in this space. Certainly the results of Business Travel News' 2021 Sustainable Business Travel Survey would suggest to.
More than 36 per cent of travel managers who completed the survey said their companies had increased their commitment to sustainable business practices in the past 12 months. That’s not to say all these companies have committed to reducing business travel emissions, per se, but it shows awareness is growing in the global business community around climate change realities – and the impact business practices have on carbon consumption rates and rising global temperatures.
Where travel practices fit into that mix will be different for every company. A consulting company, for example, might tie 80 per cent or more of its carbon emissions to travel. Whereas a mining or energy company might set that number somewhere closer to 5 per cent. Those differences alone will influence how travel practices are prioritised in terms of emissions reduction strategy.
Read on to discover the findings of the survey and find out more about travel managers' attiudes to sustainble business travel.
METHODOLOGY Business Travel News fielded the 2021 Sustainable Business Travel Survey to travel buyers between 23 February and 16 March 2021. The survey returned 318 responses, nearly a third of whom were based in Europe.
Has your company changed its overall carbon reduction targets (not just for travel) in the last 12 months?
(Source: BTN 2021 Sustainable Business Travel Survey, Feb. 23 to Mar. 16, 316 buyer respondents)
Has the priority for travel sustainability issues changed for your organisation in the past 12 months?
(Source: BTN 2021 Sustainable Business Travel Survey, Feb. 23 to Mar. 16, 315 buyer respondents)
For how long have you been officially tasked with assessing and/or mitigating the carbon emissions of your organisation’s travel programme?
(Source: BTN 2021 Sustainable Business Travel Survey, Feb. 23 to Mar. 16, 317 buyer respondents)
Are you personally concerned with your company’s carbon footprint from travel?
(Source: BTN 2021 Sustainable Business Travel Survey, Feb. 23 to Mar. 16, 318 buyer respondents)
As a travel manager, what have you been tasked with delivering or managing in order to meet carbon emissions reduction targets?
(Source: BTN 2021 Sustainable Business Travel Survey, Feb. 23 to Mar. 16, 318 buyer respondents)
Has your company changed any travel approval thresholds or travel policies to deliver on those expectations?
(Source: BTN 2021 Sustainable Business Travel Survey, 252 buyer respondents)
What types of partners do you work with to deliver on sustainable travel expectations?
(Source: BTN 2021 Sustainable Business Travel Survey, 253 buyer respondents)
To what extent does your organisation ask emission-related questions in your supplier RFP or other sourcing process?
(Source: BTN 2021 Sustainable Business Travel Survey, 253 buyer respondents)
If your organisation asks emissions-related questions in RFPs, do you actively make preferred supplier partner decisions based on those emissions details?
(Source: BTN 2021 Sustainable Business Travel Survey, 253 buyer respondents)
Built with Shorthand