The GBTA will draw up a climate action plan and pathway for the industry based on the outcomes of a think tank session at its Sustainability Summit in Brussels this week.
Outlining the organisation’s plans for the next 12 months, Mark Cuschieri, GBTA Sustainability Leadership Council Chair and GBTA Board of Directors Vice President, said the plan would include a roadmap and concrete steps to help travel managers decarbonise business travel.
The GBTA will also step up its advocacy efforts with policymakers for investments in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and green technologies, development of the rail and charging infrastructure, better multimodality, and interoperability, as well as a single global standard to calculate emissions for business travel.
It will also work to extend partnerships with like-minded organisations and NGOs to multiply the impact of the collective work.
“Our goal is to empower global travel buyers and suppliers to place climate action at the forefront of their travel programs and operations to accelerate the industry’s green transition,” said Cuschieri.
“The only way we’ll get to a greener future and achieve the Race to Net Zero is by getting there together as an industry. This Summit was an impactful next step, but there’s a lot of work ahead – and GBTA will be sharing more as the journey continues.”
The Sustainability Summit, held concurrently with COP 27 in Egypt, brought together nearly 300 global experts, travel industry and policy leaders to outline solutions to decarbonise business travel aligned with Paris Climate Goals.
“The level of engagement at this inaugural event shows that our industry and others recognise that a collective approach to sustainability is critical – and taking action is of the utmost importance,” said Delphine Millot, Senior Vice President, Sustainability, GBTA and Managing Director, GBTA Foundation.
“For GBTA, building a greener future means championing industry efforts, developing and scaling solutions and tools, and ultimately eliminating the carbon footprint of business travel so people and businesses can continue to connect.”
