Striding towards being ever green

As we continue to emerge from the dark days of the pandemic, we are all more aware of our impact on the planet. For the corporate traveller, sustainability is an increasingly important factor in international and domestic plans. This was heightened in the wake of COP-26 and the momentum must not be lost.

Travel is often regarded as the enemy of sustainability and it is incumbent on our industry to combat this trope whilst making tangible steps towards mitigating the damage of climate change.

At the start of this year, we set out to benchmark the progress of the industry against the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS). Our landmark report showed strong trends and made encouraging reading.

We are now building on this and responding to industry demand with a series of white papers looking more closely at areas of sustainability and looking in-depth into the carbon offsetting industry.

Carbon offsetting alone is not the answer. We also need to reduce our carbon emissions. However, offsetting is an unregulated industry, becoming increasingly commercially competitive and change is needed. We at the BTA are calling on the UK Government to introduce a kite mark for responsible offsetting schemes so that TMCS, corporate and leisure travellers can be confident in their decisions.

The kite mark would only go so far. If we are to genuinely collaborate as an industry to contribute to getting to Net Zero, there needs to be widespread standardisation. This starts with measurement. There needs to be one way of reporting the carbon cost of the total journey.

This would level the playing field and help drive proper change. Our responsibility to our planet and future generations should not be a point of commercial advantage. As our benchmarking report highlighted, collaboration is required throughout the travel supply chain. With effective measurement and recognised accreditation, we can take strides towards a better future.