Predictions on: Sustainability

Fast-approaching carbon reduction emission targets will speed up companies' commitment to responsible travel programmes

2024 is expected to be another pivotal year for sustainable travel as upcoming changes in legislation influences how sustainability targets are reported more robustly in travel programmes.

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which came into force at the start of 2023, means ‘the first companies will have to apply the new rules for the first time in the 2024 financial year, for reports published in 2025’.

Stratford believes reporting will be a major driver behind more responsible travel going into 2024. “Many boards now have an ESG focus as a standard boardroom item, so we’re likely to see the reporting side become more mainstream,” he says. “Sustainable businesses are going to be important for their investors too and that’s where data – like our carbon-aware data at the point of sale – is essential to help them make choices on where to reduce their carbon footprint.”

And it’s becoming a world-wide priority, as the 2050 deadline of Net Zero looms closer. “Sustainability is probably the most talked-about subject in corporate travel at present,” Reed & Mackay Australia Managing Director David Greenland says. “For a few reasons Australia was slow to get on board with it, but it’s now come with a rush. A common reason is many companies signed up to various carbon-reduction emission targets some years ago, now they realise the clock has been ticking and they haven’t been doing enough to reach those targets. And they’re being called to account for the real numbers achieved.

“The upshot is we’re seeing a much keener interest in the CO2 reporting we provide but also more intent to change behaviours to help reach those targets they've committed to."

Keichline reports there are currently pockets of inconsistency with sustainability among US firms although reporting directives, such as those the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced last year to ‘enhance and standardise climate-related disclosures’, will start to drive it further.

“Admittedly the US is a little behind other countries when prioritising responsible travel but, as we’re giving organisations the choice to be more sustainable, it can be a call to arms for suppliers within the business travel industry,” he says.