Zeno takes aim at emissions with new initiative

Travel and expense management specialist Serko has launched Mission Zero, an initiative to help customers reduce the environmental impact of business travel.

The Mission Zero capability in Serko’s travel management platform Zeno displays the carbon offset data associated with flights to allow travellers to make informed decisions. It can also prioritise lower emission car rental options such as electric and hybrid vehicles in search results and provide customers with the ability to offset emissions for a net zero travel programme.

New Zealand-based Serko has partnered with Tasman Environmental Markets (TEM) to integrate BlueHalo, an end-to-end technology solution that enables travellers and businesses to offset their travel. Through the partnership, Zeno can calculate and offset the emissions of a journey. According to the company, TEM’s ability to provide granular, dynamic carbon offset data based on choice of fare gives Zeno customers the ability to build a robust carbon-neutral programme and further drive sustainable choices within their businesses.

According to Serko, research shows travel contributes about 8 per cent of global CO2 emissions, making cleaner programmes a priority for travel managers.

Jo Phipps, head of product for Zeno, said: “We believe that for a sustainable business travel programme to be realised, individual travellers need to be able to understand how their choice of travel impacts their carbon emissions. Mission Zero visually highlights personalised carbon offset data according to the aircraft and class of travel within the Zeno booking flow so that travellers can make better choices and facilitate the path to a carbon-neutral travel programme.”

Mission Zero will be made available in Zeno globally during the fourth quarter of 2021 and can be activated by contacting a business’s certified Zeno reseller TMC.

Serko said in the future Zeno users will be able to measure the impact of their entire trip, including accommodation and rental car options, and to make comparisons between alternative options such as rail or car.