Press Release
For Immediate Release
10 February 2009
GREEN BUSINESS TRAVEL AT RISK IN THE RECESSION ACCORDING TO ACTE/KDS GLOBAL SURVEY
Alexandria, Va --
Companies’ commitment to a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) platform is no passing fad, according to the latest annual opinion poll by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) and KDS, the European leader in on-demand travel and expense systems. However, certain aspects of CSR such as ‘green’ forms of business travel, are beginning to suffer in the recession, as organisations prioritize cost-saving over supporting sustainable travel.
This is the fourth consecutive year that ACTE and KDS have gauged business opinion on issues around CSR and business travel. The latest survey was conducted between December 2008 and January 2009, and captured the opinions of 329 travel managers and business travellers from around the world, the largest-ever response to an ACTE/KDS survey and a 52% increase from last year’s respondents.
Confounding the skeptics, the study found that companies are not being blown off course by the global recession in seeking to promote CSR:
61% of organisations now have a CSR charter (versus 59% in 2008)
27% of organisations prefer to do business with suppliers and partners with a CSR charter
28% of corporate travel departments are required to report to management on carbon emissions performance
The most common CSR activities are reducing energy waste within company buildings (76% of companies), contributing to the local community (55%), cutting carbon emissions in production plants (34%) and using carbon offset arrangements (25%)
However, this commitment to CSR does not automatically translate into greener travel choices, as these often entail higher financial costs. The survey finds that companies see cost-cutting as the top business travel concern (rated a high priority by 79% of companies), while environmentally sustainable travel is a high priority for only 17%. Overall, environmental sustainability is rated only a mid-level priority for business travel, ranked at this level by 48% of organisations.
Greater concern about our impact on the environment appears to be more of a European phenomenon. Only 35% of US respondents said they would consider their carbon emissions when planning business travel, compared to 42% of Europeans.
Meanwhile, the United States has already seen a greater focus on cost-cutting in the travel budget, suggesting that the situation in Europe may well worsen during 2009. Overall, 70% of respondents said their company has sought reductions in the travel budget to save money; for US organisations the figure was 80%. Similarly, while 54% of respondents said they had been asked to cut their number of business trips because of the economic crisis, the figure for US respondents was 64%.
Susan Gurley, ACTE Executive Director and Chief Staff Officer, said, “The survey shows that, contrary to some predictions, Corporate Social Responsibility has not fallen from favour in these challenging times. Instead, the figures show that it is steadily gaining ground and becoming part of the DNA for organisations around the world. However, it also puts to rest the myth that good CSR practices automatically include greener travel choices. Under present economic conditions, green travel choices may frequently conflict with the greater urge to cut costs.”
Yves Weisselberger, CEO of KDS, commented, “At this stage, green travel choices remain scarce and are usually more expensive. For example, European companies can send their staff by high speed rail, which is low in emissions but often more expensive than a low-cost flight. However, in the current economy, paying a premium is hard to justify, so green business travel will lose out. Longer term, though, the picture is brighter – companies clearly want to do the right thing through CSR, so once the financial premium is erased, or the economy permits, we should expect to see green business travel become far more popular.”
To view the full report, please visit ACTE Connect or click HERE.
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
About KDS:
KDS on demand travel & expense offers a completely integrated solution for travel and expense management, addressing essential needs ranging from travel policy definition and enforcement, to online travel self-booking, to automated travel expense processing and beyond. Every critical procedure can be completed through the KDS ASP offering, resulting in greater efficiencies and associated financial benefits. In addition, KDS offers the most extensive back-end connectivity to airline, car, rail and hotel providers in the industry, ensuring optimized pricing and up-to-the-minute inventory control. For more information, visit www.kds.com.
Contact:
Kathleen Brannigan
Senior Director, Global Communications
Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE)
(703) 683-5322 x 203
[email protected]
Stanislas Berteloot
Marketing Director
KDS
Tel +33 1 46 29 33 80
Mobile +33 6 80 40 40 56
[email protected]
For more information, contact:
Debbie Flynn
CEO
Brighter Group
The Pod, London's Vertical Gateway
Bridges Wharf, Battersea
London SW11 3BE England
T: 020 7326 9880
F: 020 7326 9890
E: [email protected]
W: www.brightergroup.com