The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and its charitable arm, the GBTA Foundation, announced new developments in its commitment, partnering and programming in sustainability to empower the global business travel industry to reduce carbon emissions and build a greener future. 

“As an industry, through individual organisations as well as our collective efforts, we’re making real progress toward more sustainable global business travel. There’s a lot more to be done, but each step brings us closer to scaling solutions that will help decarbonize business travel,” said Delphine Millot, senior vice president, sustainability, GBTA and managing director, GBTA Foundation.

GBTA becomes a signatory of the Glasgow Declaration
GBTA recently became a signatory of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism. Officially launched at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November 2021, the Glasgow Declaration unites travel and tourism behind a common set of pathways for climate action, aligning the sector with global commitments and catalyzing collaborative solutions to the many challenges facing businesses and destinations globally.

With a commitment to lead by example and raise awareness, GBTA is among the 230 supporting organizations who have stepped forward to date to help accelerate climate action in tourism and take action to cut emissions in half by 2030 and achieve Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050.

GBTA partners with the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance 
GBTA also announces it has entered into a strategic partnership with the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance to enhance collaborative action to enable the hospitality industry to have a lasting positive impact. A key pillar for joint action will be to drive the uptake of a consistent and robust approach to carbon measurement for the accommodation sector. Harmonizing the way emissions are measured on an industry-wide, global scale is critical to allow corporations to effectively calculate and compare emissions from their hotel stays.

This is why GBTA recognises the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI), the carbon calculation methodology developed by the Alliance, as a go-to standard measurement which is included in GBTA’s revamped Sustainability Toolkit, a guide for corporate travel managers to track and improve the environmental performance on their travel programs.

“If we are to make net positive hospitality a reality, we need to involve all parts of the hospitality chain from owner to guest. We are therefore delighted to be partnering with the GBTA Foundation. This partnership brings together our reach and expertise within the hospitality sector, with GBTA’s impact in the business travel community, to create a better future for the planet and its people,” said Glenn Mandziuk, CEO, Sustainable Hospitality Alliance.

GBTA’s first-ever Sustainability Summit slated for 8 November in Brussels
GBTA will be hosting its first ever Global Sustainability Summit on 8 November 2022, in Brussels, focusing on Driving Action to Net Zero Business Travel. This one-day, high-level event, will bring together speakers, experts, industry and policy leaders to outline concrete solutions to decarbonize business travel, in alignment with the Paris Climate Goals – and concurrently to the 27th UN Climate Summit in Egypt.

The Summit will foster connections and exchange by providing a forum for frank discussions on topics such as:

• Best practices to decarbonize travel: including modal shift, sustainable aviation fuels, and carbon budgets
• Measuring emissions: how to get accurate data on scope 3 emissions
• Green hospitality: how to navigate the various criteria and certifications
• Electromobility: how to bridge the gap on electrification and rethink mobility
• Finance and collaboration: role of business travel to accelerate the green transition

Speakers include Walter Goetz, Head of Cabinet for EU Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean; Member of European Parliament Jan-Christoph Oetjen; Zlatko Kregar from the European Commission’s Sustainable Transport Forum; Brune Poirson, Chief Sustainability Officer for Accor and Former French Secretary of State for the Environment; Paul Abbott, CEO American Express Global Business Travel; Glenn Mandziuk, CEO Sustainable Hospitality Alliance; and Kim Carnahan, Head of the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), among others.

Dr. Gabrielle Walker, Founder and Director of Valence Solutions and non-profit, Rethinking Removals, will also talk about “The Climate for Change” and what a low carbon future looks like for business travel.