06 March 2008 - Electronics giant Philips last year added to its online travel booking system messaging that informs travelers when they are booking trips about videoconferencing options. As a means to minimize business travel's impact on the environment, as well as cut travel budgets, more organizations are considering such approaches--and more suppliers are positioning themselves to help.
At the same time, a recent study in the United Kingdom found that half of 347 surveyed business travelers are willing to pay higher fares to help aviation address climate change. The results of that poll follow a survey furnished by the
Association of Corporate Travel Executives and KDS, which showed purchasing and behavioral modifications in the corporate travel industry. Taken together, these and other recent developments indicate a growing environmental awareness among travel managers and buyers, and business travelers themselves.
That awareness increasingly is prompting organizations to measure and minimize their carbon emissions, seek credible carbon-offset program providers and work with travel companies that share environmental concerns.
Microsoft Corp. and Kimpton Hotels, for example, recently partnered on an eco-friendly lodging program.
At Philips, the company during 2007 generated 270,000 tons of carbon dioxide from business travel, including car rental and leasing (100,000 tons, based on kilometers driven and fuel consumption) and air transport (170,000 tons based on kilometers flown), according to the company's latest sustainability report. [Travel by rail contributed about 0.1 percent of the company's carbon footprint.]
To minimize emissions from business travel, Philips last year arranged with its car rental provider "an option for reserving hybrid cars," the company wrote. It already had established a policy stipulating small-vehicle rentals.
Hybrid rental vehicles have become popular emissions-reduction choices, but they "really aren't going to be an effective solution for any given company," according to John Barrows, Avis Budget Group vice president of communications and public affairs.
"The manufacturers of hybrid vehicles make them available to rental car companies in very limited numbers," Barrows said this week during an Association of Corporate Travel Executives event in Boston. "We have 2,500 hybrids available out of a total fleet of 400,000. That does not reflect how many hybrids we'd like to be able to offer; just what the restrictions are."
Meanwhile, to cut the number of business trips entirely, Philips in 2007 added to its online booking tool "new functionality when employees book their travel--a pop-up window that suggests videoconferencing as an alternative to raise awareness and encourage people to consider this option," according to the company's report.
The company at press time was unable to provide additional information on the enhancement to its booking tool. In 2006,
Philips global commodity manager Peter Sijbers told
The Transnational that the company uses the Traveldoo booking tool in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria, and Carlson Wagonlit Travel's Symphonie system in the United States.
Several suppliers have said they can integrate video-, Web- or audioconference options at the point of sale, including American Express, Concur and GetThere. Rearden Commerce last week said it added to its booking tool "green" travel features, including a point-of-sale carbon calculator for flight choices, Web- and audioconferencing options and hybrid-vehicle discounts.
There are many other strategies companies can consider when searching for emissions reductions, including those related to meeting planning. Genyzme Corp., for example, recently decided not to provide gifts to attendees at one of its meetings, opting instead to use the allocated funds to offset the carbon emissions generated by travel to that meeting.
"We don't need more stuff," said Genzyme director of environmental affairs Rick Mattila, also speaking this week in Boston.
Mattila also explained the ways in which Genzyme is cutting emissions related to business air travel--which in 2006 represented 27.5 percent of the firm's carbon footprint--including consideration of remote conferencing tools and other travel alternatives. "Our projected growth has been 20 percent a year, so it is a big challenge to have a net reduction in our carbon emissions," Mattila said, "but there are ways to do it."
Paying for Climate Protection
As suppliers and corporate clients develop and implement "demand management" tools that enable alternatives to travel, there are some indications that business travelers, when they must travel, would be willing to pay more to help address the environmental impact.
Produced by the Institute of Directors, a U.K. business association, and sponsored by U.K. carrier bmi, a December 2007 poll found half of 347 British businesspeople agreed that airline ticket prices should increase "in order that aviation should meet its full environmental costs." Two-thirds said they would be willing to pay more--by an average of 6.5 percent. "This translates into an extra £6.50 (US$12.90) on a £100 (US$198) short-haul trip, and almost £200 (US$397) more on a £3,000 (US$5,953) long-haul business-class fare," according to IoD.
While they may be willing to pay more, survey respondents generally were not willing to travel less. Sixty-four percent said they were "not very" or "not at all" likely to voluntarily reduce business air travel to help the environment. And while more than half of respondents would "very" or "quite" likely use public transport options for travel to and from airports--rather than driving--should infrastructure and services improve, geography and limited availability of existing rail services prevent many from switching from air to trains for short-haul domestic trips.
From a public policy perspective, respondents favored fuel taxes and participation in the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme rather than limits on new airport capacity. From an air carrier's perspective, respondents overwhelmingly advocated for more fuel-efficient fleets. About one in four said "prepaid carbon-neutral" flights would be a credible option, while 15 percent suggested voluntary carbon-offset programs.
The "lack of enthusiasm" for carbon-offset programs "may reflect a reluctance to pay more for air travel," according to the IoD report, "but it also suggests that business travelers see carbon offsetting as a poor substitute for an effective environmental policy."
Avis Budget's Barrows also said that customer demand for offset programs has not been overwhelming. "While customers want the emissions and the environmental impact from rental car use as minimal as possible, they don't think they should have to pay for it," he said, noting that Avis Budget nevertheless likely would "will go down that road at some point."
Though a vast majority of IoD respondents said better performing aircraft is the best solution for minimizing air travel-related carbon emissions, that is much easier said than done. Though efforts are underway to design more fuel-efficient planes and engines, and develop alternative fuels, aviation's current dependency on fossil fuels is not in dispute.
One of the more vocal airlines on the subject, Virgin Atlantic Airways last month flew one of its Boeing 747s between London and Amsterdam using "biofuel composed of babassu oil [from babassu tree nuts] and coconut oil." This week, Virgin said it partnered with General Motors on a pilot that would use "zero-emissions" vehicles to serve premium customers entitled to free limo service to and from airports. The partnership first will be piloted in Los Angeles, with plans to extend it to New York.
