BCD Travel has partnered with Squake, a climate technology company, to streamline carbon emissions-related actions across the various tools and touchpoints in the travel industry, according to an announcement. This allows corporate travel programs to centrally set targets, decide upon sustainability policies to achieve them and distribute these across online and offline booking channels for each employee.
Squake has established tools to provide active nudging and steering processses within BCD agent front ends and online booking tools (OBTs). The tool encourages travelers to travel less and travel better. In addition to making travelers aware of air, train, hotel and ground transportation emissions using one of multiple calculation methodologies, the tool displays the carbon cost of each trip.
While CO2 emissions consumption of different travel options has been visible to travelers in OBTs for some time, it’s been difficult to use the same methodology across the point of sale, itineraries and invoices, and reporting. That challenge is solved by this offering, according to the announcement.
In addition to driving traveler behavior change, BCD and Squake will provide carbon budgeting, forecasting and reporting tools to help clients set and manage carbon targets. This is key to comply with regulatory reporting requirements like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
Philipp von Lamezan, CEO of Squake, said the goal is to embed carbon emission related action into the core processes and reduce the execution complexity of sustainability policies.
Contending that this is the business travel industry’s first comprehensive and fully integrated TMC sustainability offering, the announcement said it provides complete transparency at point of sale whether the booking is online or through a travel consultant. Travelers will have a consistent experience and sustainability guidance at every step of their journey.
The sustainability solution is currently being piloted with Siemens and will be available to customers in the first quarter of 2025.
