But more companies have CSR charter
Green travel has dropped as a top priority among companies as the recession hits home.
While 29% of companies gave environmental sustainability a top priority in 2007, the figure fell to 17% last year.
A survey of 329 travel managers and business travellers by IT company KDS and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) found that cost reduction (78%) and employee security (75%) were the main concerns.
Companies cutting travel said the main reason was to reduce costs. Only 19% said they were cutting travel both to lower costs and meet company targets on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
But the survey - the fourth conducted by KDS and ACTE - also found that more companies now had a CSR charter, rising from 59% in 2007 to 61% last year.
There was also a slight rise in the number of companies, from 26% to 27% which preferred doing business with suppliers who had a CSR charter.
The survey conducted online with executives from around the world also found that 28% of travel departments reported on travel related carbon emissions.
It also found that greater concern about travel's impact on the environment is 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.
Susan Gurley, ACTE's executive director, 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, KDS's ceo, said: "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."
www.acte.org www.kds.com