Paris - Sixty-two percent of companies have a sustainable development
policy, a slight increase from 58 percent last year, but only 35 percent have a
policy that is implemented through their online travel booking tool. That
finding stemmed from a survey conducted by travel and expense tool provider KDS,
presented here at the Association of Corporate Travel Executives Global
conference. There were 392 respondents, of which 61 percent were travel buyers
and 39 percent travelers. Seventy percent of all respondents were based in
Europe.
Those companies that do reflect green issues in their booking policy generally
do so through an online carbon emissions calculator, provision of virtual
alternatives (such as remote conferencing technologies) and/or rules pointing travelers
to lower-emission alternatives. Seventy percent of companies have an online
booking tool, up from 64 percent last year.
The survey also found that 32 percent of represented companies' travel
departments are required to submit reports to management on carbon emissions,
while 52 percent indicated they are not required and 16 percent were unsure.
Just under three-quarters of respondents said their companies encourage them to
limit their business trips, but 43 percent said this is for financial reasons,
while 5 percent said it is for environmental reasons and 26 percent cited both.