Corporate travel programmes are increasingly measuring the environmental impact of flights, hotels and other suppliers, but what business travellers do once they reach their destination remains a largely unmeasured part of the sustainability equation.
In an effort to shed light on the compliance gaps that fall within traveller behaviour, the African Business Travel Association (ABTA) has launched an Intentional Traveller Behaviour Survey.
Monique Swart, Founder of ABTA, explained that the survey intended to answer the critical question: ‘Do companies know if their travellers are supporting their sustainability policies in their own behaviours?’.
“Too often, pressure is put on the TMC to assist with a variety of different requirements, such as traveller compliance, where the corporates don’t take enough responsibility for driving what is needed in the organisation. The TMC should be there in a supporting role, with overall onus being on the corporate client and their travellers,” emphasised Swart.
A traveller could book the most sustainable hotel available under company policy, for example, but still behave wastefully once there.
The survey’s preliminary results found that over half of the respondents ‘sometimes, rarely or never’ think about the environmental impact of their actions when they travel for work. When they do think about their actions, the survey found that the main drivers were personal values, visual evidence of waste or pollution or company travel policy.
The sustainable reporting gap
While travel programmes, policies and booking technology can funnel travellers towards preferred flights, accommodation and other suppliers – and measure those bookings – what travellers do once they reach their destination is far more difficult to track.
“What is being measured is a company’s sustainability programme, but this is being done without fully understanding the role of the traveller within this. The purpose of our research is not to suggest that traveller behaviour outweighs supplier-related emissions but rather to explore a largely unmeasured part of the sustainability equation,” said Swart.
The survey is examining everyday practices that travellers may not necessarily associate with the environmental impact of a business trip. These include leaving air-conditioning running, taking long showers, frequently requesting fresh towels and linen, wasting food and using costly transport for short journeys.
The preliminary results made the following findings about these types of behaviours:
- Almost half of the respondents dispose of food when travelling, without knowing if it can be composted, recycled or donated.
- More than half did not know that certain airlines and hotels can donate food to food programmes if it has not been opened or partially consumed.
- About two-thirds of respondents admitted they disposed of waste without separating recyclables while travelling.
- About three-quarters often buy single-use plastic bottles instead of refilling their own.
- More than half of the respondents ‘always, often or sometimes’ over-pack when travelling for work, most often driven by ‘just in case thinking’.
“Our hope is that once travellers know better, they will do better, and I don’t believe that the behavioural shifts we will suggest will be an inconvenience at all. I think a lot of these behaviours are just habit, but once they understand the cumulative impact of those habits, they can change to more environmentally conscious choices,” said Swart.
The friction point
The survey’s preliminary results found that the biggest friction point between sustainability and willingness was not a lack of good intentions but a lack of convenience.
Very few travellers said they actively sought out more sustainable options when travelling, with almost half citing their reason as their prioritisation of convenience and speed. However, many travellers reported that they tried to balance convenience with responsibility.
“Many respondents say they try to balance the two, suggesting that many travellers want to act responsibly but often default to the easiest option when under time pressure or when the sustainable choice requires additional effort,” said Swart.
“The challenge for organisations is therefore not just creating sustainable travel policies, but making sustainable behaviours easier and more visible throughout the traveller journey.”
Swart noted that the survey was the first step in understanding the prevalence of sustainable behaviour and creating awareness among corporates and their travellers on the impact of small green practices.
