GBTA Foundation, The charitable arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), has launched GBTA Sustainable Procurement Standards, an educational resource that corporate travel buyers worldwide can utilise to make informed procurement decisions and deliver on their organisation’s sustainability objectives.
The Standards are a list of relevant questions and considerations adaptable to companies’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities and development level. An educational guide, included with the questions, describes the vertical-specific topics travel buyers should take into account when assessing suppliers on their sustainability performance.
The GBTA Foundation and GBTA Sustainability Committee collaborated with business travel stakeholders, subject matter experts and sustainability standard setters for about 18 months to validate the Standards’ concept, framing and content. Over 50 leading business travel companies, non-profits and industry associations were consulted, as well as the relevant GBTA committees and stakeholder groups such as the Sustainability Leadership Council and Corporate Advisory Board.
The Sustainable Procurement Standards are available on the GBTA Foundation website, as well as in the GBTA Hub for GBTA members.
“One of the biggest sustainability challenges faced by the business travel industry around procurement is focusing on issues that are meaningful and driving positive change across the ESG spectrum,” said Delphine Millot, managing director of the GBTA Foundation and senior vice president for sustainability and advocacy at GBTA.
“This is why the GBTA Foundation convened the entire value chain of business travel to agree on common, global standards to benchmark the sustainability performance of airlines, hotels and car rental companies. The new Standards offer a practical solution for buyers to support their procurement efforts and streamline the process for suppliers, ultimately fostering a more responsible travel ecosystem.”
The Standards are a free resource, with the first set focusing on the aviation sector. In the coming months, GBTA will also release standards for accommodations and ground transportation, with other verticals scheduled for development in 2025. The meetings and events standards, part of GBTA’s commitment as a supporting association to the Net Zero Carbon Events Coalition, will begin in 2025.
On April 3 from 11.00 to 12.00, the GBTA Foundation and Sustainability Committee will present more information about the Sustainable Procurement Standards at a free webinar, which will provide an explanation of why the Sustainable Procurement Standards were created and show how to integrate them into the procurement and supplier management process. There will also be a brief Q&A session.
The Foundation will also use in-person opportunities to share information about the Standards at upcoming GBTA events, including the Canada, LATAM and APAC Conferences this April and May, and the GBTA Convention in July.
Additionally, GBTA is hosting a Sustainable Travel Management course at the Convention for corporate travel managers to learn more about the practical application of climate action and the management, reduction and tracking of carbon emissions from business travel. Registration is live now.
