February 23, 2007

Most Corporate Travel Policies Lack Sustainability Considerations

Most companies do not have sustainable travel considerations written into travel policies, according to a recent survey (PDF) by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives and travel technology firm KDS (via the Transnational).

The survey found that only a third of companies presently have travel policies that promote sustainable travel. A further third were developing such policies, but only 20 percent of these respondents said that companies encourage their staff to use travel providers with lower carbon emissions.

Twenty percent of respondents said their company travel departments were required to produce carbon emissions reports for senior management.

The environment was not a major travel concern, according to ACTE. Employee security came top, with 81 percent of respondents feeling it was a high priority; cost control came second, with 77 percent ranking it as a high priority; in contrast, most respondents (45 percent) saw environmental sustainability as a low priority, with only 20 percent ranking it a high priority for companies.

Companies also appear reluctant to cut down on travel in order to reduce emissions. Only 23 percent of respondents said their company had encouraged journeys to be reduced to support environmental sustainability.

The survey comes at a time when air travel has faced harsh criticism as a contributor to global warming.

Earlier this month, TRX launched a carbon emissions model to provide corporations with data detailing the impact of employee travel on the environment.

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