For a topic that supposedly took a back seat to economic issues, environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility remain popular among travel managers and buyers. Fifty-seven percent of our 294 respondents were involved with their companies' environmental policies and practices--with 40 percent reporting they were indirectly involved--while 29 percent were not involved and just 15 percent of firms did not have such practices.
The figures were even higher for larger corporations. At firms spending more than $60 million annually on travel and entertainment, 82 percent of respondents were involved with green policies, while the same was true for just 32 percent of firms spending less than $5 million. Those smaller firms also were more likely to not have such policies or practices, at 30 percent compared with just 3 percent for the giants.
Among the 84 respondents who said they were not involved with green policies, 16 percent said they expected to be, while more than twice as many thought they should be. Moreover, 60 percent of the 45 respondents who said their companies did not have green policies thought their firms should have such policies, and one-third expected their companies to create them in the future. Respondents reporting to travel or procurement were more likely to be going green than those reporting to executive offices or finance, at about two-thirds each versus 39 percent and 50 percent, respectively.
"As businesses have entered survival mode with the economic downturn, this survey shows that environmental and CSR issues are still on the radar or bubbling under the surface and waiting to re-appear," noted Jonathan Green, an associate with JMP Consultants. "The downturn has been a big test, but the environmental and CSR agenda now has 'stickability' on the corporate radar, especially in larger firms. And larger companies are encouraging others to act. The downward pressure from the supply chain will force smaller companies, and those in the small- and medium-enterprise sector, to act. It's fair to say that this is a relatively new agenda, but one that has moved apace."
For Virginia Commonwealth University travel manager Karen Beebe, while her department's environmental initiatives are supported by a university-wide ethos, travel is not explicitly represented on the school's sustainability committee. Nevertheless, travel and procurement officials have taken measures, including requiring large conferences to be held in centers that meet Virginia Green Certification standards, approving only small cars for rent unless there is a group need and eliminating water bottles at events. That last rule remained in place even after the state repealed a requirement for it. The university also is encouraging more teleconferencing and videoconferencing.
"It takes someone willing to look outside of what we have always done," said Beebe, who has been with the university for more than seven years. "I haven't been here for 20 years, so I'm willing to look at it differently."
On corporate social responsibility, 59 percent of respondents said they were involved with their companies' programs, while just 8 percent said their companies did not have them. The biggest firms were almost twice as likely to have their travel people involved in CSR initiatives than the smallest ones, and the smallest ones (spending less than $5 million) were more likely to not have a CSR program, at 14 percent versus zero among companies spending more than $60 million on T&E.
Among the 100 respondents who were not involved with CSR, 9 percent said they expected to be and 28 percent thought they should be. Only 22 respondents said their companies did not have CSR programs, two-thirds of whom thought their companies should have such a program. About one-third said they expected their companies to create such programs in the future.
That one in five travel professionals have direct involvement with CSR is "startling" when compared to where it was "a couple of years back," according to JMP's Green. "Responsibility for CSR and climate change is becoming akin to that of health and safety. There needs to be ownership, hazards and risks identified, measures to mitigate them put in place and records maintained. One thing that we need to be careful with is terms. The environment, CSR, sustainability and carbon agenda are all used interchangeably. We first need to be clear about our language and desired outcomes, and ensuring all parties understand this before devising the strategy to deliver."