American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has launched a
new sustainability feature in its corporate travel and expense tool Neo that
allows travellers to filter flights and rail journeys in order of their carbon
emissions.
Andrew Crawley, GBT’s chief commercial officer, said: “Sustainable
travel remains a top priority for the corporate community. We have spoken to
our customers and travellers, and we share their desire to carve out the most
sustainable path forward for our industry. The new Neo emissions filter lets
travellers consider their carbon footprint.”
The TMC pointed to research from the Institute of Travel
Management (ITM) that showed 96 per cent of its members consider sustainability
to be a top priority as business travel recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
The launch comes off the back of the release of GBT’s annual
environmental, social and governance (ESG) report, which details the TMC’s
progress on key corporate social responsibility priorities. The company
recently announced it had offset 100 per cent of its employees’ business travel
emissions in 2019 and has set the goal of becoming carbon neutral across all
its operations. It also began an environmental impact assessment of all sites
and began implementing changes such as energy efficiency, water savings, waste
reduction and the elimination of single-use plastics in its major locations.
GBT has also been recognised for its diversity and inclusion
efforts, having been awarded a perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index from
the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for its LGBTQ-inclusive policies. It has
also launched the Women of the World and Black Engagement networks to develop
female and black employees and increase representation at all levels.