The rocky road to net zero
The global energy market faces some big questions, says ATPI Halo's Pippa Ganderton, who suggests how to reduce Scope 3 emissions when travel is essential
For the corporate travel industry to achieve a more sustainable future, we must reflect on current efforts and be honest about areas of improvement.
Driving progress, The GBTA Foundation, the Global Business Travel Association’s (GBTA) non-profit division, released its first-ever sustainability report.
The ‘Sustainability Acceleration Challenge’ assessed current emissions reduction efforts in corporate travel across all markets and regions to identify and share solutions that can help accelerate decarbonisation efforts.
The report, which featured 241 participating companies, scored efforts across all industry sectors at 1.3 out of a maximum of 5, highlighting that many companies are still in the infancy stages of reducing emissions. The results reinforce the need for support, recommendations, and collaborations to mobilise efforts that drive positive impacts.
GBTA’s Sustainability Acceleration Challenge is part of a greater (and more daunting) challenge – the road to Net Zero. By 2030, we must reduce emissions by as much as 45% in order to reach Net Zero by 2050.
Every industry has a role to play if we are to achieve these goals, and under an increasing spotlight of scrutiny, the global energy market faces some big questions.
To tackle Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions within the sector, new energy technologies, processes, and sustainability-focused guidelines are being discussed and adopted. However, a universal approach that includes Scope 3 travel and planning is critical to optimise efforts. The need for global travel is non-negotiable for those in the energy sector, so as leaders in corporate travel management, we must help to find the right decarbonisation solutions.
Step by step
Aided by the rise of virtual meeting alternatives – that also save time and money – there has been an increase in questioning the necessity of individual work trips. GBTA’s report highlighted that ‘purposeful travel’ was the number one sustainability practice, as 79% of companies evaluated whether a trip requires being in-person. However, within the energy industry, in addition to mission-critical crew travel, global events and in-person platforms vital for collaboration and networking are proudly part of the industry’s patina. It is important to remember when travel is necessary, there are steps to minimise emissions.
Sustainability efforts extend far beyond the decision whether to travel or not. A logical but often underestimated first step is choosing suppliers with tangible, evidenced sustainability strategies. By partnering with responsible suppliers, you can improve your corporate sustainability rating. Only a third of companies consider external sustainability efforts when selecting a partner. Alongside decarbonising energy assets and projects, to achieve a holistic sustainability approach, operators must look outward as well as internally.
Presenting the environmental impact of travel during the planning and booking process helps educate bookers on more environmentally friendly alternatives. Specialist travel reporting platforms that present impactful visuals alongside granular detail can disclose options for carbon reduction (i.e., modal shifts from air to rail and the impact of reducing premium cabin travel on short-haul or daytime air trips) to support travel policy reviews, while the implementation of carbon budgets, carbon pricing, or simply rewarding travellers for making the right choices are all effective options.
Educating and nurturing awareness can be just as important as action, so enlightening employees and stakeholders on responsible travel choices can support a smooth transition of innovative policies and efforts.
Additional actions include appointing internal champions to track and identify emission-cutting opportunities, incentivising the workforce to consider their environmental footprint, training on why sustainability matters, and supporting efforts to execute initiatives. And don’t lose sight of Sustainable Aviation’s role in directly reducing travel CO2e emissions, and the benefits of compensating the residual, hard-to-abatable travel emissions through carbon credit – or offset – investments that support communities often suffering most through climate change.
