A guide on how to minimize the climate impact of business travel
 

Why this Toolkit?

Protecting our planet and people – which means fighting the disastrous impacts of climate change – requires collective and urgent efforts.

As business leaders commit to their own net zero strategies, corporate travel managers are being asked to track and reduce emissions from business travel.

The task is daunting. How to collect accurate data? How to account for emissions across the full business travel journey? What are credible alternatives to reduce emissions from travel? How can we encourage employees to choose greener travel options? And how to even recognize these sustainable travel options in the first place?

The objective of this toolkit is to guide travel managers in their own sustainability journey and empower them to partner
with their colleagues, employees, and suppliers to reduce the climate impact of business travel.



How to Use this Toolkit

GBTA’s toolkit is structured into 12 modules, organized into 3 parts, all navigable under our GBTA Member Hub. Modules can be read independently from one another. We however suggest that users go through them in proposed order, especially for travel managers who are new to the topic of sustainability. Note: for best results, please access this on a desktop computer.

  • Part A: A Starter’s Guide – Sustainability in Business Travel
    • Glossary establishes and breaks down the buzz words. 
    • Part A (Modules 1-3) provides an introduction to sustainability and sustainable travel management, with a focus on climate action and emissions reduction.
  • Part B: Getting the Data Right – Tracking, Offsetting, Reporting
    • Part B (Modules 4-7) dives into sustainability data and how to track, report and offset emissions from business travel.
  • Part C: Reducing Emissions – How to Travel Smarter and Better
    • Part C (Modules 8-12) presents all the various levers at the disposal of travel managers to help reduce emissions from business travel including employee’s education (on how to travel better and smarter) and selecting greener suppliers (with a deep dive into sustainable transport, accommodation and meetings & events).”



Glossary
Module 1:

What is Sustainability? 		Module 2:

Defining Sustainable Travel Management		 Module 3:

Getting Started		 Module 4:

Introduction to Sustainability Data
Module 5:

Tracking Emissions		 Module 6:

Offsetting Emissions		 Module 7:

Sustainability Reporting		 Module 8:

Influencing Traveler Behavior and Managing Demand
Module 9:

Greening Procurement		 Module 10:

Sustainable Transportation		 Module 11:

Sustainable Accommodation		 Module 12:

Sustainable Meetings and Events

This toolkit was developed with the support of GBTA’s Sustainability Committee and taskforce members, whose objective is to provide leadership and resources to help GBTA member organizations balance the social, economic, and environmental impact of their business travel programs, and Grayling. GBTA’s sustainability initiative, made possible by GBTA’s Founding Partners in Sustainability, aims to build a greener future for business travel by sharing insights and best practices across all verticals of business travel.