Travel managers, particularly those in industries such as
consulting and professional services where business travel is sometimes the
most significant source of carbon emissions, are increasingly having to become
experts in sustainability.
Amid growing pressure to master a range of arts, it’s not
surprising that companies are working with a wide range of partners to deliver
on sustainable travel expectations.
According to BTN’s survey of 198 travel buyers, partners
like TMCs and OBTs are the most for this, with 65 percent of respondents
leaning on them for reporting information and other data.
Nearly a quarter of buyers include sustainability support
and objectives in supplier and TMC agreements, while 22 percent are working
with third-party consultants with expertise in sustainability.
Seventeen percent of respondents’ companies participate in
airline SAF programs, 16 percent have direct relationships with carbon tech
providers, 11 percent utilize third-party SAF programs, and 9 percent have
direct relationships with carbon offsetting providers.
As transaction fees have dwindled, many TMCs have expanded
their consultancy services and sustainability is usually among them.
Pippa Ganderton, director of Halo at ATPI, said: “With
smaller teams, travel managers are taking on a lot more, whether that is
sustainability or wellbeing. They can’t be experts in all of that, so they
should be able to rely on a TMC to provide them guidance.”
She added: “I’ve been into some clients where you read the
public website and it’s got a statement saying they want to be carbon neutral,
or reach net zero. I often ask ‘do you have a strategy for achieving that with
the travel program?’ It’s not uncommon that they don’t or haven’t been assigned
what their trajectory is to reach that for the travel program.”
CTM head of sustainability Lauren Hook said: “Great travel
managers are adaptable problem-solvers. That skill set is an advantage when it
comes to sustainability too. Travel managers don’t need to be subject matter
experts, but the ability to coordinate the necessary people in their organization
and ensure they have the information they need will best position them for
success.”
LEAVING IT TO THE EXPERTS
Some travel managers prefer to work with specialist
sustainability platforms and consultants to bolster their own skills.
Squake CEO and co-founder Philipp von Lamezan said: “We
believe in a split of competence. We let the front end sit with the experts:
OBTs have done this for years and TMCs have been in client relationships
and managing the overall program for decades. As a travel manager, you’re the
pilot of the plane. Your travel program consists of the dashboards informing
you about how the plane is flying or how the travel program is performing.
He continues: “Carbon emissions is basically like a new
gauge which you have to monitor. Building a new tool which sits outside of the
cockpit—the OBT, the TMC, the BI tool—doesn’t really make sense. This is where
we divide functions. We say we want to be the best provider [of carbon
reporting] but how you arrange the cockpit… that’s not up to us.”
While some travel managers are clearly becoming skilled in
sustainability, it is sometimes still not enough.
Advito senior director of sustainability Julien Etchanchu said:
“The problem is that even if they are experts it doesn’t make any difference if
they don’t have strong internal buy-in. The CEO says what it is going to be
like, and the whole company works in that direction.”
If the boss said they have to travel then it does not matter
even if the travel manager is highly trained and knowledgeable about
sustainability, he argues. “So it’s not so important to be trained in
sustainability but it is critical to have a clear strategy not only from the
sustainability team but also from the C suite.”
Etchanchu believes that tying sustainability into wider
corporate objectives could be the answer in gaining that high-level support.
“Globally, we do not communicate well enough on
sustainability,” he said. “When you say you should reduce travel, it’s not
enough to say it is bad for the environment. Instead you can also tie it in
with wellbeing.” He takes as an example a 10-hour flight to India, a six-hour
time zone difference, and high pollution as a trip you might think twice about
on the grounds of both carbon emissions and personal wellbeing.
ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
As travel managers are working more closely with providers
on sustainability, it is no surprise that sustainability questions are showing
up more in RFPs. Garnering information on the sustainability of suppliers and
other partners is now a standard part of the tender process.
Two-thirds of travel buyers (66 percent) in BTN’s global
sustainability survey said their organizations include questions on
sustainability in their RFPs.
For just under a quarter of travel buyers (24 percent) this
is simple checkbox information on suppliers’ internal emissions reduction
efforts.
Advito’s Etchanchu is dismissive. “It is very ‘yes, no, yes,
no’ and you cannot distinguish one supplier from another with that,” he said.
“Most questions you see in RFPs… honestly, they don’t help a lot. You want to
be very precise with the questions.”
Some travel managers are recognizing this. The BTN survey
found that 19 percent of travel buyers are asking for some additional
detail on suppliers’ measures to achieve internal carbon reduction efforts. One
in 10 travel buyers asks for detail on emissions reduction programs for clients
as well.
A small number of organizations (13 percent) want
significantly more detail and ask for granular detail on internal emissions
reduction efforts as well as information on external benefits offered to
clients.
ACTING ON THE ANSWERS
But where is the data coming from to answer these questions?
Advito’s Etchanchu said: “The best reporting is coming from consulting
companies like us and Thrust Carbon. It is hard for a TMC to consolidate
everything and apply a proper methodology.”
Parexel’s executive director for travel &
sustainability, Benjamin Park, said his company is embedding sustainability
questions into RFPs and supplier selection, ensuring that emissions data and
reduction strategies are part of its procurement process.
Sustainability criteria are important in the supplier
selection process for some organizations. In the BTN survey, one in nine travel
buyers (11 percent) said supplier alignment on sustainability goals
significantly factors into partner selection.
Despite sustainability appearing more often in RFPs and
travel buyers working with a range of suppliers and intermediaries on managing
it, there is a stark reality—cost is still paramount when it comes to supplier
selection. The research found 28 percent of travel buyers say that pricing
outweighs supplier sustainability in the selection process and 24 percent of
organizations say that suppliers’ sustainability credentials would only come
into play if all else is equal.
HOLDING BACK THE GREEN TIDE
Sustainable business travel is often perceived as coming
with a premium. Whether there is truth in that or not can be debated at length,
but nearly six out of 10 travel buyers (58 percent) in our survey believe the
cost of sustainable options is a barrier to reducing business travel emissions.
Buyers’ sustainability efforts are also being stymied from
both above and below—39 percent of respondents said lack of compliance among
employees is a challenge and a similar proportion, 38 percent, pointed to a
lack of internal buy-in from business leaders as holding back sustainability
efforts.
NEXT
ARTICLE: THE DIFFICULT DECARBONIZATION JOURNEY
RETURN TO BTN’S 2025
BUSINESS TRAVEL SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
