Report: 38% of UK business travelers boosted investments in sustainability

16 / 07 / 2023

• news

A recent report issued by Emburse, the global leader in spend optimization, said 38% of British businesses travelers increased investment in sustainability, with 71% having a formal sustainability policy or guidelines in place. However, only 37% of these businesses actively enforce these policies during bookings and travel expense approvals.

Emburse released the findings of its latest research on attitudes towards sustainability amongst British business travelers. The Censuswide survey of 1,003 employees and 254 employers asked where sustainability fits within the business travel agenda, as trip volumes approach pre-pandemic levels.  The data showed that while the environment is front of mind for many companies and their travelling employees, the majority are yet to turn good intentions into concrete actions, and are placing the onus on the other to implement sustainable travel.

Only one in six employees cited sustainability as their key priority when making travel plans, significantly below both cost and traveler convenience. Whilst environmental concerns remain a low priority during the booking process for business travelers, 71% said their employer should do more to enable sustainable travel. Meanwhile, the majority (76%) of employees also agreed they would take a more sustainable mode of transport if financial incentives or sustainability programs were available.

About 43% of businesses are considering implementing initiatives and incentives (such as travel budget incentives, cycle to work schemes and remote training,) to encourage sustainable employee travel, the report, noting that 25% of businesses do not have a business travel sustainability policy.

Meanwhile, only 26% would proactively cut down on travel to reduce their carbon footprint, while 74% employees believe it is their organization’s responsibility to do more to enable sustainable business travel, regardless of cost.

Jeroen van Velzen, SVP Travel & Mobility at Emburse, commented “Business travel has defied expectations by seeing an almost complete return to pre-pandemic levels. But we can’t just go back to business as usual when it comes to emissions. Businesses and travelers both need to work on reducing their carbon footprint. It’s promising that more organisations are putting sustainability guidelines and policies into place, but this data shows we still have a long way to go until it becomes a priority.”

“Whilst travel managers could strictly enforce their companies’ policies to help achieve carbon goals,  this heavy-handed approach risks alienating travelling employees. Educating travelers about the impact of their trips in easy-to-understand terms – like how many houses could be powered by the energy used on a trip – can lead to much higher levels of compliance. Employers need to provide employees with tools to make smarter decisions, and employees need to use that insight to make more environmentally friendly travel plans. We need to move beyond paying lip service to environmental issues and turn good intent into meaningful action.”