The GBTA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Global Business Travel Association, has launched GBTA Sustainable Procurement Standards, an educational resource that corporate travel buyers worldwide can use to make informed procurement decisions and deliver on their organization’s sustainability objectives. The standards, according to an announcement, also align with the Biden Administration’s formal commitment last December to accelerate sustainable travel practices.
Additionally, according to the announcement, the standards help ensure suppliers are better prepared to respond to procurement-related requests in “a harmonized way” by providing a standard set of questions for assessing the sustainability practices of current or potential vendors, partners and suppliers. The standards are a free resource, with the first set focusing on the aviation sector. GBTA will release additional standards for other industry sectors, including hotels and ground transportation, in the coming months.
Delphine Millot, senior vice president for sustainability and advocacy, said one of the biggest sustainability challenges faced by the business travel industry around procurement is focusing on issues that are meaningful and driving positive change across the ESG (environmental, social and governance) spectrum. That is why, she said, the foundation convened the entire value chain of business travel to agree on common, global standards to benchmark the sustainability performance of airlines, hotels and car rental companies. The new standards, she said, “offer a practical solution for buyers to support their procurement efforts and streamline the process for suppliers, ultimately fostering a more responsible travel ecosystem.”
The standards are a list of relevant questions and considerations adaptable to companies’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities and development level. An educational guide, included with the questions, describes the vertical-specific topics travel buyers should take into account when assessing suppliers on their sustainability performance. The standards are available on the GBTA Foundation website, as well as in the GBTA Hub for GBTA members.
The GBTA Foundation and GBTA’s sustainability committee collaborated with business travel stakeholders, subject matter experts and sustainability standard setters for about 18 months to validate the standards’ concept, framing and content. Over 50 leading business travel companies, nonprofits and industry associations were consulted, as well as the relevant GBTA committees and stakeholder groups such as the Sustainability Leadership Council and Corporate Advisory Board.
