More sustainable business travel, a challenge for companies
The word sustainability is on everyone's lips, including in the business travel segment. If suppliers have long been offering solutions to reduce their carbon footprint or at least offset its effects, travel companies are beginning to include environmental commitment requirements in their purchases and tenders. Forum Business Travel has analyzed this trend in two afterworks held in Barcelona and Madrid.
It is undeniable that corporate travel has an impact on the environment. So much so that, according to a report by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), 88% of companies now consider climate change mitigation a priority when organizing business travel.
In this context, Forum Business Travel has held afterworks to analyze this trend in Barcelona (Oct. 19) and Madrid (Oct. 25), in collaboration with Expensa;Expensya and Lufthansa Group, as well as the participation of Ilunion Hotels, Genéthico and the Asociación Española de Directivos de Sostenibilidad (DIRSE).
The aim of the meetings was to exchange experiences and the main challenges faced by companies in different sectors. At the end of the debate, the sustainable development consulting firm Genéthicocoordinated a workshop to co-create a guide to best practices.
At the end of the meeting, the representative of the Lufthansa Group explained how its companies are seeking to reduce their impact. Our company's strongest commitment is to SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), a less polluting fuel. In addition, by 2025 we will have 120 new and more efficient airplanes and all our onboard packaging will be sustainable," explained Gema Jurgszat, Senior Account Manager of the company.
Ilunion Hotels, for its part, also took stock of the work done in this direction. We have made a very important effort this year in terms of the environment and corporate governance. We are ‘Hotels Changemaker' and we will continue to promote responsible tourism so that our model can serve as an inspiration and drive change in our environment”, synthesizedó Elena Carreras, head of Sustainability at the chain.
Expensya, for its part, presented as part of this activity its latest launch: the virtual cards for employees. "Since our inception, we have been helping companies to digitize their expenses and now we are taking a new step in this direction with the launch of payment cards for employees. In short, with the help of technology today, not only can company processes be rethought to make them more respectful of the planet, but also more efficient and, therefore, profitable for the organization," summarized Laura Piasek, Communication & Content Manager at Expensya.
The session in Madrid was also attended by Antonio Fuertes, member of the Board of the Asociación Española de Directivos de Sostenibilidad (DIRSE); Raquel Nogueira, journalist at Enclave ODS / El Español; and Juan Manuel Blanco, Global Travel Manager at FCC Servicios Ciudadanos.
According to Antonio Fuertes, “we have to rely on two factors: that investors continue to establish ESG criteria so that money speaks with a green voice, and that the European Union continues to lead the way in the developed world with sustainability regulations.
Although, as the specialized journalist Raquel Nogueira reminds us, "we are already late, we must continue to make efforts so that everyone takes their responsibilities, from the CEO of the company to the last intern, and not only in the work or public sphere, but also with small actions at home or in the private environment".