ANALYSIS


Green due diligence


Buyers are under new pressures from the government and travellers to find more sustainable suppliers


T


URN THE CLOCK BACK TEN YEARS, and the environment was at the top of the agenda for travel buyers in many large firms. Along came the global financial


crisis and suddenly corporate survival and cost-cutting were far more important. Now that the global economy has recov-


ered to some extent, both travellers and travel managers are saying that being green is again rising up their agendas. The Airplus Inter- national Travel Management Survey 2016 showed that 48 per cent of travel managers and 45 per cent of business travellers saw eco-friendly travel as a growing trend.


34 BBT May/June 2017 Research for the GBTA Foundation also


found that 57 per cent of European companies had sustainability initiatives written into their travel policies, up from 39 per cent in 2012. Mark Britton Jones is commercial director


of Considerate Hoteliers, a consultancy that helps hoteliers reduce their environmental impact, and a member of the GBTA’s Project Icarus sustainability committee. He says: “When it comes to building sustainability into travel programmes, the importance of evaluating existing and potential sup- pliers from a sustainability standpoint cannot be overlooked. Travel management professionals already take into account a


myriad of factors including price, traveller preference and convenience. Contracting with sustainability-focused suppliers signals an organisation’s concern and commitment to re- ducing and counteracting the harmful impact of business travel on the environment.”


SUSTAINING SUSTAINABILITY Britton Jones also believes some hoteliers did not take their eye off the environmen- tal ball during the crisis. Britton Jones says: “There are companies that did look at sup- pliers and services during the financial crisis of 2008/09 and assessed those they needed to keep to maintain their businesses


BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM


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  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136