The United Kingdom's Department for Transport has approved approximately $200,000 in funding for Project Icarus, the program devised by the U.K. & Ireland's Institute of Travel Management to help organizations "green" their corporate travel programs.
The grant is one of a frenetic series of developments in the United Kingdom to introduce more environmental awareness to corporate travel now that both its government and leading businesses have accepted that air travel contributes to global warming. Last month's Business Travel Show in London was awash with suppliers, exhibitors and buyers striving to present newly found green credentials. Visitors were overwhelmed with a wave of emissions-reporting programs, carbon-offset schemes and suggestions as to how businesses can reduce travel-related greenhouse gas emissions.
The show also was used to announce results of a survey on the environment conducted on behalf of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives and self-booking tool provider KDS. The survey showed a mixed response, suggesting green issues have registered with corporate clients but still are a low priority. Thirty-two percent of respondents said their company travel policy supports sustainable travel and another 35 percent said they are rewriting policy to include statements on sustainable travel.
There were 207 respondents to the survey, of which 73 percent were travel buyers and the remainder frequent travelers. Thirty percent were from continental western Europe, 29 percent from the United States and 22 percent from the United Kingdom. One in five said their travel department is required to produce carbon emissions reports for senior management. The same proportion described environmental sustainability as a high priority for their companies, compared with 81 percent and 77 percent citing employee security and cost control respectively.
However, there were signs in the survey that green considerations are beginning to have an impact. Twenty-three percent of respondents said their company encourages journey reductions to support environmental sustainability. "There was a perception that the environment was simply the flavor of the month," said ACTE executive director Susan Gurley. "Now people realize it is part of every meal."
Gurley added ACTE intends to produce guidelines for members on best practices in corporate social responsibility. This is something on which the ITM already has started with its Project Icarus. It is preparing what it describes as a toolkit of practical advice for buyers on how to green their programs. The toolkit includes case studies, a question-and-answer sheet on travel and the environment, training in using videoconferencing, best practice tips on redesigning RFPs and policy, and information on the different measurements used to evaluate carbon emissions.
Emissions measurement is a contentious subject. Paul Tilstone, ITM executive director, said different methodologies account differently for such variables as which aircraft are flown, which airports are used (taxiing times vary) and whether a multiplier is applied for what is believed to be the greater damage caused by emissions at high altitude. "According to which measurements you choose, the emissions caused by making the same journey by rail can be anywhere between two to eight times less," he said. The ITM adopted the methodology used by the U.K.'s Department for the Environment, Food and Regional Affairs.
The recent flurry of activity by buyers and suppliers led to speculation about which organizations are jumping on a bandwagon and which are serious. Tilstone said many of his members sincerely are committed to reducing travel-related emissions. "Some are aiming to reduce domestic air travel by up to one-third," he said.
Among those seeking to change habits is the telecommunications company BT. Travel manager Jan Tucker-Jones said her CEO and chief procurement officer have ordered the reappraisal of the company's travel strategy, which will start with making it policy to use rail where it is a viable alternative. BT also has installed two calculators on its travel portal. One compares the carbon emissions produced by air and rail journeys. The other compares the financial cost of rail, air, audioconferencing and videoconferencing options. Tucker-Jones described the measures as interim solutions while she develops a more complete environmental program.
Meanwhile, Carlson Wagonlit Travel has launched a trip request tool that provides travelers with the air and rail CO2 emissions for a given journey.
The tool, developed in conjunction with launch client Defra, gives travelers an online trip request template. Once that's filled in a calculator displays the emissions a journey will create. A pop-up window lists the corresponding emissions for the trip by rail if applicable. For example, Defra figures, show London-Edinburgh produces 96.4 kilograms of CO2 per passenger by air, but only 11.9 kilograms by rail.
The calculator also displays how much it will cost to make an offset contribution for the journey. Jonathan Green, sustainable travel manager for Defra, said he is working with Carlson Wagonlit towards deducting the traveler's offset charge from their budget at the point of sale, along with their TMC fee. However, Green added, offsetting is not the end but a means to achieving environmental friendliness. "Carbon-offsetting is not a panacea. We are using it as a communications tool," he said.
Booking tool providers also are looking to facilitate green policies. The latest such move came from Expedia Corporate Travel, which this month partnered with TerraPass to enable travelers to buy carbon dioxide emission offsets as they book airline tickets and travel buyers to buy offsets on a larger scale to cover companies for a particular period of time. ECT plans to use this process to offset its own travel emissions by year-end.
The prototype of the combined booking and expense management tool HRG Online is developing for Australia's Queensland state government
(BTN, March 5) asks travelers to explain why they need to travel and whether videoconferencing was available as an alternative.
KDS said it will launch a calculator for its booking tool later this year. The move is in direct response to requests from existing and prospective customers.
"Clients can be very specific about what travelers are allowed to book," U.K. pre-sales manager Dan Fitzgerald said. "For instance, they could make rail booking seamless, whereas air would require an extra layer of approval."