BCD Travel in February explained its CSR committee and principles,
provided new data on its energy savings and listed the various philanthropic
causes to which it donates in the third Communication on Progress report it has
submitted to the United Nations Global Compact. The company claimed a first in
2008 when it became the first travel management company to join the corporate
citizenship initiative.
The UN Global Compact "is a strategic policy initiative for
businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with 10
universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor,
environment and anti-corruption," according to the program's site.
Participation requires a pledge from an organization's CEO; support from that
organization's governing body (i.e. board of directors); "a widely visible commitment to the
implementation, disclosure, and promotion of its 10 universal principles" and a
"regular annual contribution."
Other travel companies and associations that currently participate
include Carlson Companies, China's CTI Business Travel Management Co., Air
France-KLM, Korean Air, United Airlines, InterContinental Hotels Group, Meliá
Hotels International, NH Hoteles, Shangri-La International Hotel Management,
the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, the Institute of Travel &
Meetings and Meeting Professionals International.
As of March 2012, more than 8,000 public and private organizations
and other entities participated. The initiative since launching in 2000 has
collected more than 14,000 COPs, including the latest from BCD Travel. In it,
the TMC described "a dedicated CSR committee to provide leadership and
resources to help raise awareness of CSR issues." That committee led the
creation of BCD's CSR principles, circulated in six languages and provided to
all employees. The TMC in an internal CSR audit conducted in December found
that "global CSR awareness" within its organization increased 2
percent overall and as much as 13 percent in some regions, according to its
COP. The committee also "carries out a yearly audit to ensure that our
global entities comply with human rights standards and the standards outlined
in our CSR principles document."
BCD Travel's recent accomplishments in the environmental realm
included increasing the number of employees working from home (surpassing 40
percent in both Canada and the United States); reducing or fully removing paper
from various processes; improving energy efficiency in offices around the globe
through "tighter policies" related to allowing in sunlight, switching
off lights when not used and favoring compact fluorescent light bulbs; using
more energy-efficient computer equipment and servers; and pursuing more ISO
certifications.
According to the company's December 2011 internal CSR audit, BCD
Travel in the United States since 2009 cut office space by 37 percent and
globally reduced paper by 17 percent. The company also more than doubled its
annual CO2 emissions savings.
BCD Travel also has dedicated personnel in most office locations
globally to provide "advice on human rights abuse issues." The
company reported that 83 percent of its country operations have "an
additional written human rights policy" beyond BCD's global policy.
Regarding labor, BCD wrote that it "respects employees' right
to collective bargaining" and to "form works councils, which allow a
greater degree of employee input into the company. Several works councils are
currently in place in European countries and conform to local country and
European Union laws."
Other efforts include the Making a Difference foundation,
"which pinpoints grass-roots level programs that make a direct difference
in the lives of children"; provision of free office and meeting space for
the management team of the Global Soap Project, which "recovers discarded
soap from hotels, reprocesses it into new bars and distributes it to vulnerable
populations throughout the world"; and funding for a new school for
children in Haiti, spearheaded by The John/Marine van Vlissingen Foundation. John Fentener van Vlissingen
is owner of BCD Holdings, parent company of BCD Travel.