The GBTA Foundation, the non-profit, cause-led arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), and Travalyst, a not-for-profit organisation which seeks to scale sustainability within the tourism industry, have joined forces to collaborate on the development of a framework for sustainable travel.
In a GBTA report − The State of Sustainability in the Global Business Travel Industry − on average, a third of industry and stakeholder respondents surveyed said the fragmentation of standards was a main barrier to a sustainability transition in business travel − and 60 per cent cited harmonised standards as a top facilitator of a positive future for the industry.
“Travalyst exists to help bring consistent and credible sustainability information to the mainstream, helping travellers everywhere make more informed choices. Nowhere is this more urgent than in the business travel sector, with corporate travellers rightly demanding better, clearer information to make – and for corporations to report on – lower impact decisions,” said Sally Davey, CEO, Travalyst. “Travalyst’s partnership with GBTA brings to bear the strengths and scale of each group to ensure business travellers are empowered to make the best decisions, for themselves and for the planet, every time they book.”
Davey added that this marks another step for Travalyst in extending its reach to encompass both leisure and now corporate travel across the industry by partnering with big companies, and major associations such as GBTA.
Delphine Millot, senior vice president, sustainability, and managing director, GBTA Foundation, said: “The lack of comparability and transparency on what’s considered a more sustainable business travel option is a real barrier to change. The GBTA Foundation has a key role to play to steer the full global business travel industry towards common sustainability frameworks and standards. This is fully aligned with Travalyst’s mission, and we’re looking forward to working together with their existing efforts and model.”
According to Millot, the Foundation’s Sustainability Initiative aims to drive cross-industry collaboration among the users and providers of corporate travel services – including aviation, hospitality, ground transport, travel management and distribution – to support the deployment of solutions that help to manage and reduce carbon emissions from travel.
