THE KNOWLEDGE 2 Buyer perspective
Tony Pilcher, Director, Pilcher Associates
GREEN TRAVEL – MYTH OR REALITY?
How many companies are truly factoring in the impact of their business travel programme on the environment? Tony Pilcher, Director of Pilcher Associates, calls for less rhetoric and more realism in this particular debate, and believes the travel manager should be the force to make it all happen
will begin to feel heavy, but please bear with me on this! In an attempt to be contentious
M
on this subject I quote Jeremy Paxman, someone who could start a verbal fight after just one sentence. He says: “The cure for cynicism is simply to engage honestly.” Using this theme, are companies really being honest when they say that they manage their business travel programme factoring in its impact on the environment? There are, without doubt, many companies who adopt a proactive green travel strategy, built around policy, data and employee engagement, in order to reduce the number of journeys their employees make by asking the basic question, “is your journey physically necessary?”, as well as better use of technological alternatives like videoconferencing, teleconferencing and web meetings. I am certain that the majority of – if not all – companies accept that, holistically, business travel damages the environment and can put a strain on their employees’ wellbeing.
Tony Pilcher,
Director, Pilcher Associates
Tony established
Pilcher Associates in 2007 providing independent
consultancy for the business travel
industry. He received a Lifetime
Achievement Award
at the Business Travel World Awards and
was named as one of the top 25 most
infl uential Business
Travel Executives in the USA by Business Travel News (BTN)
for his work in raising the profi le of the impact of business travel on the environment.
Tony is also the Independent Chairman of the Judges for The People Awards.
For a start, therefore, let’s move the debate
from rhetoric to realism. HSBC, a company very close to my heart as a former employee, states on its website that, “Managing our environmental efficiency is key to our efforts to make HSBC a more sustainable organisation. We believe protecting the environment is fundamental to the thriving society and sound economy upon which business depends.” It goes on to say that, “The bank’s activities impact the environment directly through the operations of our buildings, IT systems and business travel”. Now who could disagree with such profound statements? Realistically, a cost effective, service orientated Business Travel Programme (BTP) incorporating all aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) will always be best practice. Emphasis on each of these component parts across your total supply chain, aligned
ention Green Travel and, for many, your eyelids
Carbon emissions reporting has become a
necessity but that is the easy part of the process. That said, the hotel industry still has some way to go. Striking the right balance between employee and employer duty of care, environmental responsibility and cost reduction is the challenge.
to engagement both internally and externally, will not only communicate but deliver to your overriding corporate sustainability strategy. Stakeholder management of a company’s
BTP encompasses different departmental objectives and it is essential, therefore, that each are aligned and connected to deliver to the company’s sustainability ethos. The travel manager should be the glue to ensure the success of such alignment and connectivity, thereby bringing reality to, as a minimum, their
own company’s green travel policy. How many travel managers can honestly
say that they are the Super Glue and not just a sticky plaster? Such reality will convert this old sceptic into an optimist!
“Are companies being honest when they say that they manage their business travel programme factoring in its impact on the environment?”
8 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76