A new report from Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and Cvent—The Journey to More Sustainable Corporate Travel and Meetings Management Programs—finds that sustainability is at least a moderate priority for nearly three-quarters of corporate travel managers and meeting planners recently surveyed on the practices within their own companies. Respondents were based in the US, Canada, and several European countries.
The momentum is coming from the C-suite as the more than half of respondents say senior executives/C-suite leaders (57 percent) are top stakeholders who drive sustainability/carbon reduction at their company, just behind sustainability/corporate social responsibility departments (64 percent).
Respondents based in Europe were more likely to prioritize sustainability, with 64 percent noting it is a top priority for their company’s corporate travel program, compared to only one-third of North America-based respondents (33 percent). This could also impact meetings moving forward, as 59 percent expect sustainability considerations will drive their company to hold more virtual meetings and 52 percent say it will drive more hybrid meetings in the future.
“Corporate travel managers and meetings professionals have a tremendous opportunity to be drivers of change and evolution as more companies prioritize sustainability. They can provide the expertise and guidance to help bring more environmental sustainability to their employee travel and meetings,” said GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang.
GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang
In the survey, more than half of company respondents (55 percent) say their organization has a companywide carbon emissions reduction target. However, fewer than one-quarter (23 percent) have a target for business travel specifically. Even fewer (9 percent) have a target for company-hosted meetings and events.
The survey also shows a major gap between North America and Europe. Almost half of Europe-based respondents (46 percent) say their company has an emissions target for business travel and one in five (20 percent) say their company has a target for company meetings and events. This compares to only 14 percent of North America-based respondents who say their company has a target for business travel, and only 6 percent that have a target for company-hosted meetings.
Cvent and GBTA experts discussed the trends found in the survey and what it means for corporate travel moving forward in its latest webinar on May 19. The webinar is available on demand by clicking here.
Visit gbta.org for more information.
[05.23.22]