Business travel leaders are hoping for a step-change in sustainability action in the sector as travel and tourism makes it on to the agenda at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, this week.
Alastair Dickenson, Head of Environmental Action at Diversity Travel, said it was a landmark moment that the sector will “finally be on the agenda”.
“Now on the official schedule, companies across the industry will be under further scrutiny to act decisively and swiftly to mend its poor credibility and reputation on climate change. Central to this will be ensuring there is collective action across both leisure and business travel,” he said.
“While we expect policymakers and industry leaders to focus on solutions more closely associated with leisure travel, positive outcomes here will help the wider business travel community. If a hotel or destination works on enhancing its sustainability credentials, this will benefit the business traveller. It’s all part of the bigger picture.
“With that said, it’s important that the business travel sector take direct action on this issue. Business travel expenditure is forecasted to surpass pre-pandemic levels this year, and a recent survey by the GBTA found that a majority of travel managers anticipate spending to further increase in 2025.”
He said travel management companies need to play an active role in supporting and collaborating more closely with travel managers to help them make sustainable choices.
“This can include empowering decision-making through open, transparent and meticulous reporting on carbon emissions throughout an entire business journey. Advancements in the tools and platforms travel managers use will also have a significant impact, enabling sustainable choices to be made easier and quicker.”
Nico Nicholas, founder and CEO of Zeero and Trees4Travel, spoke at COP29.
He said: “In the last four years, the travel and tourism industry has only achieved a -1% of emission reduction. COP29 emphasised the need to vastly increase our climate ambition, moving on from commitments to implementation and true action to decarbonise.
“We have reached a critical pivotal point. It’s time to move beyond just measuring and reporting to meaningful, evidence-based action on reducing emissions by at least 7% year on year if we are to achieve the necessary global climate goals.
“Being at COP29 has been a huge privilege and gave us the opportunity to present ZEERO and at the same time learn that we’re on the right track with free granular calculators and free reporting, our shared ownership model and collaborative attitude towards sustainability.
“Everyone is talking about standardised measuring and reporting, giving tools for free so that anyone and everyone is using the same baseline, otherwise none of it makes any sense – it’s what we’ve been saying for the last three years!”
Nicholas said he chatted with many industry leaders at the event, including Julia Simpson, President and CEO of the WTTC, and Glenn Mandziuk, CEO of the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, who also announced the news of a move towards a standardisation of sustainability measures.
“Their free granular calculators include ESG impact, highlighting the importance of looking beyond just carbon, making reporting inclusive and comparable using the same methodology across the hospitality sector.
“We will be looking to incorporate this technology into our calculators and reporting tools. COP29 also focused on the importance of sharing responsibility and finance from both the public and private sectors to support nature and technologies to further advance the green economy.”
