American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) announces initiatives to help customers meet theircarbon reduction goals and make their own progress toward zero netCO2 emissions by 2050.
Green Compass, a new service developed by GBT’s consulting arm, Global Business Consulting, helps companies reducecarbon emissions from business travel while still making travel possible. Green Compass offers travel managers an intuitive dashboard that provides detailed insight into the factors that increase business travel emissions and helps identify the best actions to make their travel programlow-carbon.
Actions depend on a company’s travel patterns and business needs and may include choosing sustainable hotels, flying on lower-emission aircraft, replacing air travel with train travel, purchasing sustainable jet fuel (SAF) orcarbon offsets. GBC consultants then work with the travel manager to develop a strategy to achieve the targeted emission reductions.
Julie Avenel, vice president of GBT Global Business Consulting, said, “The world needs to be able to travel and do business again, and we want to help companies do so as smartly and sustainably as possible. Green Compass gives travel managers and sustainability stakeholders the data insight and expertise they need to guide their organization’s decarbonization efforts, and shows what steps they can take to reduce emissions while continuing to travel. MostCO2 products only indicate the emissions caused by travel. With Green Compass, companies can set goals, track progress and take action.”
Green Compass is part of GBT’s sustainable travel offering, where customers and suppliers can find solutions that help accelerate their transition to alow-carbon future. The methodology, data integrity and calculations behind Green Compass’ Emissions Optimization Algorithm (EOA) have been verified by Carbon Footprint.
GBT launches Green Compass at the GBTA Convention 2021 in Orlando, this week.
Towards a carbon-free GBT
GBT has formally committed to setting science-based targets as an intermediate step on the road to zero global netCO2 emissions by 2050. GBT will follow the methodology of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to setCO2 reduction targets for its global operations and supply chain for the next two years.
Within the framework of its science-based and net-zero goals, GBT works to limit global warming to prevent the most catastrophic threats of climate change, as outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement. GBT joins SBTi along with more than 2,000 other companies representing more than 20% of the global market value (more than $20 trillion)1.
GBT has beencarbon neutral in terms of its own travel since 2019, as one of the first global travel management companies to offset 100% of its own travel emissions. To help achieve its science-based, net-zero goals, GBT will include sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in its strategy to reduce its own emissions from business travel. GBT is already working to scale up SAF across the aviation industry by partnering with Shell Aviation. This combines the purchasing power of airlines and GBT’s business travel customers.
Si-Yeon Kim, GBT’s Chief Risk & Compliance Officer and Executive Chair of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), said, “As we help customers and travelers, GBT is accelerating its own progress toward a carbon-free future. Formally committing to the SBTi is an important milestone, affirming our determination to have zero netCO2 emissions by 2050 or earlier.”
More information on GBT’s sustainability goals and progress is available in GBT’s annual Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) report.
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