The higher cost associated with greener travel options remains a barrier to the broader adoption of sustainable travel practices, according to a recent BCD report.

The TMC recently surveyed 112 global travel buyers and close to 1,800 business travellers to gauge the importance of environmental sustainability in business travel. More than half of travel buyers (53 per cent) stated the elevated cost of sustainable travel options is the biggest pain point when seeking to implement a sustainable programme. 

Additional challenges include traveller education (47 per cent), a lack of standard measurement approaches and definitions (45 per cent), and having the right tools, such as online booking tools that support carbon budgets (44 per cent).

The report found that while 82 per cent of companies have sustainability goals in place, only 45 per cent have targets for sustainable business travel. Meanwhile, only 20 per cent of business travellers are aware of their company’s sustainable travel goals.

Among the top three sustainability priorities, travel buyers name supporting general company sustainability goals, tracking and reporting travel sustainability, and reducing the environmental impact of business travel. Over two-thirds rate these priorities as “extremely important” or “very important”. Meanwhile, offsetting carbon emissions and satisfying traveller interests are the least important.

Only a third of travel buyers (33 per cent) require suppliers to have sustainability goals and commitments in place, while a quarter (25 per cent) looks for suppliers with similar sustainability values and environmental certifications such as EcoVadis. 

Even fewer travel buyers mandate the availability of a carbon emissions calculator (15 per cent), science-based targets (17 per cent) and other sustainability metrics (19 per cent) since around half of buyers surveyed view sustainability criteria as “nice-to-have.”

While half of companies encourage sustainable travel, only a third promote sustainable options at the point of booking. Reducing travel volumes and travelling by train instead of plane are the top two options promoted by travel buyers. Additional initiatives include encouraging direct flights, combining several trips in one and limiting the number of employees on the same trip. 

Travellers also mentioned sharing ground transportation and choosing economy class over business class as frequent recommendations by their companies.

While over half of travellers are willing to take fewer but longer business trips, or try new, more sustainable ways of travelling, only 30 per cent are willing to pay more for travel to include carbon offsets or purchasing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The most popular sustainable practices embraced on the road are related to hotel stays, where 70 per cent of travellers report avoiding frequent towel change and 60 per cent refrain from using daily housekeeping. 

Recycling, going paperless with travel documents, supporting local vendors or walking where possible are similarly popular. Forty-six per cent of travellers also mention travelling with only hand luggage, while 43 per cent bring their own reusable water bottle.

The surveys also revealed regional differences in sustainable practices for both travellers and travel buyers. Companies in EMEA focus on reducing travel volumes and travelling by train instead of plane, while flying economy class instead of business and sharing ground transportation are more common in North American companies. Employers in APAC often promote direct flights and eco-friendly hotels.