Will COVID revolutionise eco-friendly business travel?

Sustainable business travel programmes are set to boom post COVID-19 as travel managers rally behind new opportunities to fast-track their climate compliance. Bonnie Smith, GM at FCM, said: “While traveller safety will of course be a key component of any of the changes to travel policies going forward, this could also be an opportunity for travel managers to hit the reset button on their programme’s sustainability efforts.” In a survey of its own members, the Climate Action for Corporate Travel Urgent Sustainability Summit (CACTUS) found that 93% ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ that COVID-19 has given travel managers an opportunity to fast track the creation of “a more sustainable and viable future for the planet”. Further to this, a 2020 survey of ITM’s buyer members found that 56% believed the focus on sustainable business travel would remain the same when things pick up after COVID, while a further 40% believed it would become of even higher importance. Smith added, “We have a unique opportunity to make climate action the focus of our post COVID-19 recovery efforts. It is important that we act now.” COVID lessons make sustainable travel integration easy Smith said that for many South African businesses, the challenge of implementing a sustainable travel programme used to loom large, but with the lessons learnt during the Covid-19 pandemic it no longer has to. “Businesses now have a practical understanding of where and how they can cut down on unrequired travel, this frees them up to ensure that their essential travel is…

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