Press Release

For Immediate Release
18 December 2008

ACTE Europe Participates in Groundbreaking Internet Forum on the Environment

Alexandria, VA --

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) was recently asked to participate in the groundbreaking Comment:Visions project, which explores the personal views of thinkers, innovators and scientists about possible solutions to global warming, overpopulation and dwindling resources. The project is the result of a unique partnership between European news channel, euronews, and the Brussels-based newspaper, European Voice in association with Shell, to seek informed opinions on the key issues facing modern society.

“I was honored to be asked to participate in this revolutionary Internet community forum, and to reinforce ACTE’s commitment to sustainability,” said Christine Dunton-Tinnus, ACTE Regional Director, Western, Southern and West Central Europe. “Being a good corporate citizen is about being environmentally and also socially responsible, and ACTE has led the industry in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) since 2004.”  

Dunton-Tinnus recently contributed to one of the monthly discussions in the section entitled “Visions From,” a forum where experts and representatives from various organizations share their views on a specific question. Dunton-Tinnus responded to the topic, “Energy and Environment: what more can we do to meet the challenges of the future?”  Please click HERE to access her blog entry.

In addition, the ACTE comments will be reprinted in the European Voice magazine in its next issue.  European Voice is the only weekly newspaper with an independent view of the EU. European Voice's mission is to promote informed debate, openness and progress in the EU and the newspaper has become essential reading for the EU regulatory and political affairs communities – Europe's most important decision-makers. Published by The Economist Group since 1995, European Voice is a high-quality read and staunchly independent in its reporting and opinions.

“The team at Comment:Visions was delighted to welcome ACTE’s viewpoint on our December debate on energy and the environment,” said Will Nicholson, Project Director, Comment:Visions. “The online forum is dedicated to encouraging dialogue on the energy challenge, amongst informed parties.”

At the upcoming Business Travel Show in London, 10-12 February 2009, ACTE will once again announce the results of the benchmarking ACTE/KDS survey, which measures the impact of CSR in the business travel industry. This marks the fourth consecutive year that ACTE and KDS have partnered on the survey.

In the last four years, ACTE has engaged in numerous global CSR initiatives, including:

    * Instituting, in 2006, an Environmental Considerations RFP document for green meetings
    * Partnering with Verkehrsclub Deutschland (VCD), a major German transport and environmental organization, on its Green Travel Project
    * Hosting carbon-low global conferences in partnership with Marriott, British Airways and Mexicana Airlines (the ACTE Global Education Conference in Munich, October 2008, resulted in a reduction of 674.6 tons of CO2)
    * Global Symposium at the ACTE Asia-Pacific Conference in August 2008 on Mainstreaming CSR in Business Travel Management
    * Partnering with The CarbonNeutral Company to provide a travel carbon calculator to members to measure their emissions
    * White paper, Carbon Neutrality – An integral part of the corporate travel supply-chain, based on the results of an ACTE global survey
    * Support of the United Nations Global Compact
    * Member of the UNEP International Taskforce on Sustainable Tourism Development
    * Partnering with international organizations such as International Office of Migration (IOM) and MTV Exit Europe Foundation to end exploitation and trafficking of women and children
    * Serving on the Green Meetings & Events initiative, led by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

ACTE incorporates environmentally-friendly practices into its global conferences and throughout its regional offices, and remains committed to reducing carbon emissions at all events. Twice a year, ACTE gives its CSR Award, the first of its kind in the industry, to those business travel executives who incorporate eco-sensitive practices into their travel programs.

For more information on ACTE and its CSR initiatives, please go to http://www.acte.org/initiatives/CSR.php.

ABOUT ACTE:
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) represents the global business travel industry through its international advocacy efforts, executive level educational programs, and independent industry research. ACTE's membership consists of senior travel industry executives from 82 countries representing the €463 billion business travel industry. With the support of sponsors from every major segment of the business travel industry, ACTE develops and delivers educational programs in key business centers throughout the world. ACTE has representation in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and the United States. For more information on ACTE, please go to www.acte.org.

Innovators to the Business Travel Management Profession
“The Most Widely Adopted Standards in the Industry”
Education • CSR • Traveler Safety/Data Privacy • Advocacy

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Debbie Flynn
CEO
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The Pod, London's Vertical Gateway
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London SW11 3BE England
T: 020 7326 9880
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