The Business Travel Association (BTA) will launch a
three-step environmental, social and governance (ESG) campaign in January 2022
to help the business travel industry fulfil the United Nation¡¯s COP26 goals.
The first step in the campaign will be to benchmark the
industry¡¯s current position and investigate its future expected activities
against the UN¡¯s 17 Sustainable Development goals.
According to the association, it will undertake in-depth
interviews with senior stakeholders across the industry to underpin the
campaign. This will result in a report identifying the specific areas needing
prioritised sustainable development across the entire business travel supply
chain.
The BTA said the ESG campaign will help align the industry¡¯s
sustainable activity with the UN¡¯s primary goal of limiting the global temperature
increase to 1.5¡ãC, to tangibly reduce business travellers¡¯ personal
environmental impact with wider global benefits.
Clive Wratten, chief executive of the BTA, said: ¡°The entire
industry needs to view ESG through a wider lens. We have always known that
carbon offsetting alone is not enough and that more must be done
internationally and domestically to ensure that sustainability is intrinsically
weaved throughout the travel supply chain from flights to rail to hotels and
cars.
¡°This campaign is a critical first step in our pathway to
net zero, providing us with a clear direction to make this goal a reality as
business travel once again becomes a valued part of normality.¡±
The campaign will also focus on diversity, equality and
inclusion to support its ¡°Generation BTA¡± steering group and the association¡¯s wider network,
enhancing the BTA Diploma in Business Travel and apprenticeship schemes.
From spring 2022, other steps will include a UK-wide tour to
gain external expertise with a focus on pinpointed action areas, resulting in a
¡°Roadmap to a Sustainable Future¡±, which is due to be launched by the autumn.