Navigating the green road: Transforming corporate travel into sustainable journeys

Corporate travel programs are typically designed to manage costs, achieve the highest quality of service, and maximize travelers’ duty of care. This structure focuses on getting the best deals and discounts from suppliers, the best tools and data for our travelers before and during their trip, and the best post-trip reporting for the program owner. This ever-increasing list of responsibilities does not get any easier as organizations prioritize sustainability.

Rather than reinvent the entire concept of managed travel, one of the most valuable strategic resources for the sustainability-focused travel manager has become the concept of a travel transition strategy.

This means that while we continue to look at our program and optimize for costs, deals, suppliers, experience, and safety, an opportunity exists to start identifying regions, top routes, and specific suppliers where we can shift large volumes of our travel activity toward sustainability. These shifts are backed by data and analysis and are aligned with broader organizational goals.

How does a travel transition strategy add value?

More and more organizations make strict sustainability commitments, such as a net zero target year or submission to frameworks such as the Science Based Targets Initiative. Because these often include public commitments like emission reductions and delivery timeframes, companies must show performance against these goals.

The value is clear and simple in these cases: a travel transition strategy will help you achieve your published climate targets.

More broadly, such a strategy will add value in developing a stronger sustainability culture within your organization. This is key when evaluating a workplace or their commitment to their employer.

How does it support my other goals?

A travel transition strategy supports your climate targets and reduces emissions by making more sustainable choices throughout the travel booking experience.

Here are some important areas to be aware of:

• Lower emissions from flights booked in non-premium cabins or with low-cost carriers (that may be more efficient on select routes) will often result in cost reductions.
• Due to significantly more competition, short-haul flights are often less expensive than the more sustainable high-speed rail alternative.
• Sustainable hotels can vary significantly as independent providers emerge who leverage sustainability as a sales differentiator. Premium hotel offerings and higher service quality also directly impact a given property's emissions.
• Sustainable hotel rates can fluctuate widely across markets. It’s important to have clear goals and frameworks in place for deciding on sustainable hotel partner

Regional nuances

When developing a travel transition strategy, it is important to consider how and where shifts are made. Are we aiming for the most efficient travel times while being as sustainable as possible? Or are we focused on the most sustainable travel patterns while being as efficient as possible?

Let’s explore a small set of examples that could be analyzed and used to create a travel transition strategy for a travel program with a global, regional, or even local footprint.

These snapshots cover the European, Asia-Pacific, and North American regions, with varying but genuine options for the three travel categories.

The Middle East, Africa, and Latin America have inconsistent infrastructure, high-speed rail, and standardized border control/security elements, making relevant comparisons challenging. Download the full guide for more detailed information on each region.

Europe

As Europe's high-speed rail infrastructure improves, there is potential to reduce emissions by shifting high-traffic city travel from planes to trains. However, this transition is complex due to logistical challenges, especially in business travel. While trains are the least polluting option, strategies must balance emission reductions with practical travel needs.

Approaches include focusing on high-emission routes, prioritizing cost and time-efficient shifts, and analyzing travel footprints to meet emission targets. These strategies highlight the opportunities and difficulties in transitioning travel methods in Europe.

Asia Pacific

The APAC region, similar to Europe but on a larger scale, faces challenges in achieving sustainable international travel. Domestically, however, countries like China and Japan offer some of the world's best high-speed rail options, providing a more productive and higher quality travel experience than flights.

Travel costs between air and rail in APAC are more comparable than in Europe, and with over 90% emission reductions, transitioning to rail travel is highly advantageous for sustainability-focused travel programs.

North America

North America faces significant challenges in developing a sustainable regional travel strategy. The U.S. Northeast corridor offers some rail alternatives, but infrastructure is less advanced than in Europe and APAC, leading to smaller emission reductions. Recent regulatory changes are improving the prospects for electric vehicles (EVs), which could make North America a leader in sustainable city-to-city travel by car. Emissions from EVs, especially with multiple passengers, are significantly lower than those from flights, enhancing their sustainability benefits.

Tracking your travel transition goals

We have discussed the travel transition strategy, regional examples, and the importance of tracking goals and commitments. Tracking these key areas is important to ensure the strategy meets organizational travel and sustainability targets. These include increasing the adoption of sustainable alternatives, reducing overall emissions, and rewarding behavioral change. Sustainable initiatives should be aligned with existing KPIs and broader organizational goals. Additionally, the strategy can support other sustainability targets, such as partnering with sustainable suppliers and enhancing employee wellness.

Download the full guide to learn more in-depth about tracking these goals, understanding supplier relationships and travel transitions, aligning your strategy with company goals, expanding supplier relationships, balancing your travel mix with SAF, and more.