Earth Day 2025: A Call to Action for Sustainable Corporate Travel

In this feature series, GBTA’s Board of Directors share their views on topics that matter most to members, the industry and the way forward for business travel. Today’s guest author is GBTA Board of Directors, European Regional Director Ben Park, Executive Director of Travel & Sustainability at Parexel. 

Earth Day on April 22nd serves as a reminder of our collective commitment to environmental stewardship and the need to address climate change.

Our industry has a unique responsibility to this cause. While business travel is essential for fostering relationships and driving economic growth, it’s also crucial to recognize each trip has an environmental impact.

During our recent GBTA advocacy meetings in Brussels, I was struck by the passion and dedication of our Advisory Board members when discussing corporate environmental responsibility. We agreed that simple, yet impactful actions are a great starting point. Public transport, electric ride-hailing options, combining multiple trips into one long-haul flight, decreasing unnecessary trips, choosing rail over flights and adopting personal behaviors like reusable water bottles or a eating vegetarian meal once a week can all significantly contribute to sustainability.

Promoting sustainable business travel also involves further development and use of technology, alternative fuels, clarity of carbon emissions standards, infrastructure and multimodal options. Additionally, increasing the demand for Sustainable Aviation Fuel within corporate travel programs is crucial for Scope 3, Category 6 emission reductions and meeting sustainability goals.

Earth Day 2025 feels like the most important one yet. Despite the global economic and political challenges, our priority to protect the environment shouldn’t change. GBTA and the GBTA Foundation have been at the forefront of promoting sustainability in corporate travel, and our Sustainability Summit this June will explore solutions to decarbonize business travel and make the industry more resilient. Our managed programs must be designed to seamlessly integrate sustainable practices, ensuring that travelers can contribute to climate action effortlessly. By leveraging technology and data, we can track impacts, optimize travel behaviors and encourage choices that reduce carbon footprints.

Earth Day is a reminder of our collective responsibility to pursue meaningful actions for protecting the planet. Corporate travel programs have the potential to lead by example, demonstrating that sustainability is achievable and impactful, and every small step counts. Let’s embrace this opportunity to inspire change to ensure our actions today pave the way for a greener tomorrow.

Together, we can make a difference. Happy Earth Day!