The State of Climate Action in Business Travel Report Unveiled at the GBTA Sustainability Summit 

The time is now for the global travel industry to enact meaningful changes for the climate, according to a new report, “The State of Climate Action in Business Travel - Global Industry Barometer 2023,” released yesterday by the GBTA Foundation.

The report was unveiled at the 2nd GBTA Sustainability Summit held in Washington, DC, by Suzanne Neufang, GBTA CEO, to an audience of 200+ industry professionals, sustainability leaders and other constituents gathered to discuss solutions toward a greener future for business travel.

“Engaging business travelers and activating the point of sale to empower them to select more sustainable options will be critical − with corporate travel managers playing a leading role in driving that needed change. But to get there as an industry, we must unify standards and make the investments needed to decarbonize business travel,” said Delphine Millot, Managing Director of the GBTA Foundation.   

Here are some of the report’s key findings:

• 71% of travel buyers and suppliers say they have a sustainability team, an increase from last year (66%). 
• Respondents say the biggest drivers for their company for sustainability uptake are reputation management (84%) and driving a positive impact for the planet (82%).  
• 77% of travel managers say their company has set (54%) or plans to set (23%) either internal or public targets to reduce Scope 3 emissions, including those from business travel.
• 74% of travel managers encourage (55%) or mandate (19%) employees to combine multiple business trips into one, while 38% ask for justification for same-day business trips based on return on investment (ROI).
• 65% of buyers point to harmonized industry standards on emissions measurement, accounting, and reporting as a means to accelerate sustainable change.
• 18% of travel buyers currently invest in the purchase of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) certificates, while an additional 16% have plans to do so.

The new report is based on a survey of the global business travel professionals conducted April 17- May 5, 2023, with 863 responses from North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East. To download “The State of Climate Action in Business” report, click here.

Read the full announcement 

Industry Spotlight

Global Elections
Board of Directors Candidate Forum 2023

Thursday, June 29
11:00 EDT | 17:00 CEST

We invite you to educate yourself on the candidates running for the GBTA Board of Directors and register for the Global Candidate Forum on June 29 at 11:00 AM EDT. The GBTA Board of Directors play a critical role in shaping our industry and the path for the association. The following seats are up for election:

• President
• Vice President
• One (1) Director-at-Large (Direct Member)
• One (1) Regional Director – Canada (Direct Member)
• One (1) Director-at-Large (Allied Member)

Not a GBTA Member? Become one today and be in time to vote! We thank you in advance for your participation in shaping the future of GBTA.

GBTA + VDR Europe Conference 2023 – Hamburg
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Registration is now open and for the first time we will be in Hamburg 14-16 November at CCH – Congress Center Hamburg. We will be kicking off the conference with a Sustainability Day with three hours of dedicated sustainability content.

Registration rates increase on 29 June at 11:59 PM BST.

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Crisis24 Intelligence Brief

Denmark - Unionized rail maintenance staff continue industrial action across Denmark, June 13; rail service disruptions likely. Confirm services.

India and Pakistan - Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Biparjoy tracking northwestward June 13. Landfall forecast over Kutch District, Gujarat State, India, June 15.

Italy - Unionized public transport workers to strike in Milan, Italy, on June 16; transport disruptions likely.

United States - Regular power supply resumes at San Francisco International Airport, Calif., US, following brief outage as of late June 13. Confirm flights.

Western, Central, and Southern Europe - Severe weather forecast across parts of southeastern Europe through at least June 15. Possible transport, business, and utility disruptions.

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