{"id":27213,"date":"2025-11-10T09:25:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T14:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/?p=27213"},"modified":"2025-11-07T13:40:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T18:40:30","slug":"corporations-stay-the-course-on-sustainable-business-travel-but-struggle-to-progress-in-high-impact-areas-according-to-global-benchmark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/corporations-stay-the-course-on-sustainable-business-travel-but-struggle-to-progress-in-high-impact-areas-according-to-global-benchmark\/","title":{"rendered":"Corporations Stay the Course on Sustainable Business Travel but Struggle to Progress in High Impact Areas, According to Global Benchmark"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Results of the 2025 GBTA Sustainability Acceleration Challenge and inaugural Acceleration Awards show evidence of progress but also the critical need to accelerate efforts in key areas<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>los <a href=\"https:\/\/gbtafoundation.org\/\">Fundaci\u00f3n GBTA<\/a>, the cause-led arm of the Global Business Travel Association (<a href=\"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/\">GBTA<\/a>), today released the second-year findings from its <a href=\"https:\/\/gbtafoundation.org\/planet\/sustainability\/gbta-sustainability-acceleration-challenge\/\">Desaf\u00edo de aceleraci\u00f3n de la sostenibilidad<\/a>, a global benchmark assessing the state of corporate action to decarbonize business travel programs.<br><br>Input from 285 companies across the globe \u2013 representing an annual business travel spend of $22 billion USD \u2013 reveals that companies are still committed to tracking and managing carbon emissions from their employee travel programs, with measurable gains in maturity and more organizations joining the effort. Progress, however, remains limited in certain high impact areas, underscoring the need for faster, collective action to invest in low-carbon travel solutions.<br><br>\u201cYear two of our benchmark shows real engagement and growing commitment. But despite progress, greater urgency is needed,\u201d said Delphine Millot, Senior Vice President, Advocacy and Sustainability, GBTA, and Managing Director, GBTA Foundation. \u201cTo future-proof business travel, companies must accelerate adoption of sustainable procurement practices and carbon management strategies to send a real signal to the market.\u201d<br><br>The 2025 results from the global benchmark developed in collaboration with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.accenture.com\/gb-en\/industries\/travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Acento<\/a> were released today at the GBTA + VDR <a href=\"https:\/\/europeconference.gbta.org\/\">Conferencia de Europa<\/a> in Hamburg and can be <a href=\"https:\/\/gbtafoundation.org\/planet\/sustainability\/gbta-sustainability-acceleration-challenge-copy\/key-insights-2025\/\">descargado aqu\u00ed<\/a>.<br><br>Key findings from the 2025 GBTA Sustainability Acceleration Challenge include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Participation continues to grow:<\/strong> 285 companies participated in the 2025 assessment, marking a 20% increase <a href=\"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/first-ever-gbta-sustainability-benchmark-reveals-gaps-to-decarbonize-business-travel-programs-calls-for-accelerated-corporate-action-to-reach-net-zero-targets\/\">compared to 2024<\/a>. Across the two years, participants represent approximately $31 billion in annual business travel spend and include one-quarter of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businesstravelnews.com\/Corporate-Travel-100\/2025\">BTN\u2019s Top 100<\/a> corporate travel programs.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Incremental maturity gains:<\/strong> The global average score is now 1.4 compared to 1.3 in 2024 (out of a maturity scale from 0 showing \u201cno activity\u201d to 5 being \u201cleading practice\u201d), reflecting limited overall improvement.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Regional shifts:<\/strong> Global and APAC travel programs improved slightly, while regional and local programs in Europe and North America dipped marginally, likely due to regulatory changes and economic uncertainty.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Program size correlation:<\/strong> Smaller (&lt;$5M) programs have made notable progress this year, while the largest (>$500M) programs have regressed overall, perhaps demonstrating that while companies under intense public scrutiny may be slowing their sustainability efforts, smaller companies may be using sustainability leadership as a way to differentiate themselves.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Leading industry sectors:<\/strong> The Financial, Banking and Insurance sector continues to lead (maturity score of 1.9 out of 5), followed by the Professional Services and Consulting sector (score of 1.7). These sectors traditionally have a large share of their emissions coming from their business travel programs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Where companies are making progress:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Cost-positive sustainable practices are accelerating. <\/strong>Sustainable Travel Policies (2.2 score in 2025 versus 1.8 score in 2024) and Carbon Budgets (0.7 score in 2025 versus 0.5 score in 2024) show strong year-over-year improvement.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reporting and targets setting are becoming standard. <\/strong>Reporting (2.7 score in 2025 versus 2.1 score in 2024) and Targets Setting (1.7 score in 2025 versus 1.4 score in 2024) are increasingly built into travel programs \u2013 although the largest companies show some regression.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Where acceleration is urgently needed:<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Shaping travel decisions. <\/strong>Tools that influence booking choices \u2013 Carbon Fees (score of 0.4 in 2025) and OBT (online booking tool) Features (score of 2.4 in 2025), have stalled. Embedding these mechanisms is key to enforcing sustainable travel policies.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sending a unified demand signal: <\/strong>While supplier sustainability assessments are increasing, advanced levers such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/gbtafoundation.org\/publications\/sustainable-procurement-standards\/\">Normas de adquisiciones sostenibles de GBTA<\/a> and sustainability clauses in Contracting (score of 1.2 in 2025), show no movement \u2013 likely hindered by limited guidance and technology enablement.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Investing in emissions abatement: <\/strong>The use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) to decrease emissions from business travel is growing (15% of corporates purchasing SAF certificates in 2025, up from 12% in 2024), but adoption remains low. Corporates can leverage <a href=\"https:\/\/gbtafoundation.org\/planet\/sustainability\/saf-corporate-connect\/\">GBTA SAF Corporate Connect<\/a> for best practices on SAF implementation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe GBTA Sustainability Acceleration Challenge provides a roadmap for the future,\u201d said Dr. Jesko-Philipp Neuenburg, Global Travel &amp; Aviation Sustainability Lead, Accenture. \u201cWith more companies participating, we\u2019re seeing where the industry is moving forward, and where further collaboration can close the gap between ambition and action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Acceleration Awards and Leaderboard Results<\/span><br><br>The GBTA Foundation also announced the winners of the inaugural Acceleration Awards and Leaderboards, designed to highlight top-performing and most-improved companies. These honor corporate travel programs that are setting the pace for decarbonization in business travel and acting as innovators, advocates and changemakers across the industry.<br><br>Award recipients were selected based on Acceleration Challenge Results scores and reviewed by members of the <a href=\"https:\/\/gbtafoundation.org\/planet\/sustainability\/leadership\/\">GBTA Sustainability Leadership and Corporate Advisory Board.<\/a><br><br>Acceleration Awards Categories include: Global Leaders (top travel programs globally); Emerging Leaders (top small travel programs); Regional Leaders; Industry Leaders; and Transformational Impact (most improved travel programs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Award Winners:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Acceleration Award \u2013 Europe Regional Leader:<\/strong> BDO \u2013 UK <em>(other regional winners to be announced at GBTA regional conferences in 2026)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Acceleration Award \u2013 Industry Leaders:<\/strong> Kearney (Consulting) \u2013 Global; BDO LLP (Finance) &#8211; UK; Parexel (Pharmaceuticals) \u2013 Global; University of California (Public Sector) &#8211; USA; IKEA (Retail) &#8211; Global; and Nokia (Technology) &#8211; Global<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Leaderboards:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Global Leaderboard:<\/strong> AstraZeneca &#8211; APAC, AVEVA \u2013 Global, BDO LLP \u2013 UK, Ingka Group (IKEA) &#8211; Global, Kearney \u2013 Global, NetApp \u2013 Global, Nokia \u2013 Global, Nordea \u2013 Global, Parexel \u2013 Global, Tata Communications \u2013 Global.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Emerging Leaderboard: <\/strong>Accelya \u2013 Global, Austral Education Group \u2013 Global, Flottweg SE \u2013 Global, Sopra Steria \u2013 Germany, Transcom \u2013 Global<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Transformational Impact Leaderboard: <\/strong>Arcadis \u2013 NORAM, Kuo \u2013 Mexico, NetApp \u2013 Global, Nokia \u2013 Global, Sandoz \u2013 Italy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The full 2025 Acceleration Leaderboards and award winners can be found on the <a href=\"https:\/\/gbtafoundation.org\/planet\/sustainability\/gbta-sustainability-acceleration-challenge\/\">Sitio web de la Fundaci\u00f3n GBTA<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBDO LLP are participating in the Acceleration Challenge to showcase our leadership in sustainable travel. By innovating and advocating for impactful solutions, we aim to inspire industry-wide change and demonstrate how strategic engagement can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of business travel. I hope that this inspires others across industries to explore their own paths toward making a positive impact,\u201d said Verity Phillips-Davies, BDO LLP\u2019s Travel Manager.<br><br>Millot added: \u201cThese companies exemplify the leadership, innovation, and collaboration needed to transform business travel for a net-zero future. Their commitment to measurable progress shows what\u2019s possible when sustainability becomes an integral part of corporate travel strategy.\u201d<br><br><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Turning Insights into Action: GBTA Transition Pathway<\/span><br><br>Introduced earlier this year, the <a href=\"https:\/\/gbtafoundation.org\/planet\/sustainability\/gbta-sustainability-acceleration-challenge\/sustainable-business-travel-transition-pathway\/\">GBTA Sustainable Business Travel Transition Pathway <\/a>developed with Accenture, continues to serve as a key guide for organizations, outlining practical steps companies can take to move from awareness to implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of its ongoing effort to empower companies with actionable insights and learning tools, the GBTA Foundation also provides a range of resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Highlighting <strong>mejores pr\u00e1cticas<\/strong> and continuing to <strong>track progress<\/strong> through the Acceleration Challenge<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Guidance on <strong>Combustible de aviaci\u00f3n sostenible<\/strong> (SAF) adoption through the recently launched <a href=\"https:\/\/gbtafoundation.org\/planet\/sustainability\/saf-corporate-connect\/\">SAF Corporate Connect<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tools to embed <strong>sustainable supplier engagement<\/strong> including upcoming training on the <a href=\"https:\/\/gbtafoundation.org\/publications\/sustainable-procurement-standards\/\">Est\u00e1ndares de adquisiciones sostenibles<\/a> and an aviation sustainability scorecard<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Acerca de la Iniciativa de Sostenibilidad de la Fundaci\u00f3n GBTA <\/strong>\u00a0<br>los <a href=\"https:\/\/gbtafoundation.org\/planet\/sustainability\/\">Iniciativa de sostenibilidad de la Fundaci\u00f3n GBTA<\/a> El objetivo es impulsar la colaboraci\u00f3n intersectorial entre los usuarios y proveedores de servicios de viajes corporativos para implementar soluciones que ayuden a gestionar y reducir las emisiones de carbono de los viajes. Nuestro trabajo incluye la creaci\u00f3n de capacidades, la armonizaci\u00f3n y las iniciativas de promoci\u00f3n para empoderar a los profesionales de los viajes de negocios a fin de que promuevan programas de viajes de negocios conscientes del clima.<br><br>GBTA\u2019s Sustainability initiative was made possible by the corporate donations and support from the Foundation\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/gbtafoundation.org\/planet\/sustainability\/partners\/\">sustainability partners<\/a>. For more information or to help support the GBTA Foundation and our Sustainability Initiative, reach out to sustainability@gbta.org.<br><br><strong>Acerca de GBTA<\/strong>\u00a0<br>La Asociaci\u00f3n Mundial de Viajes de Negocios (<a href=\"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GBTA<\/a>) is the world\u2019s premier business travel and meetings trade organization serving stakeholders across six continents. GBTA and its 9,000+ members represent and advocate for the $1.57 trillion global business travel and meetings industry. GBTA and the GBTA Foundation deliver world-class education, events, research, advocacy, and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts. For more information, visit\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GBTA.org<\/a>y<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gbtafoundation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fundaci\u00f3n GBTA.org<\/a>.\u00a0<br>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Results of the 2025 GBTA Sustainability Acceleration Challenge and inaugural Acceleration Awards show evidence of progress but also the critical need to accelerate efforts in key areas The GBTA Foundation, the cause-led arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), today released the second-year findings from its Sustainability Acceleration Challenge, a global benchmark assessing the&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"1621,1114,1316,908,1951,1829","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[45,37,1519],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-press-releases","category-research-and-travel-trends","category-sustainability-foundation"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"Debbie Iannaci","author_link":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/author\/diannacigbta-org\/"},"comment_info":"","category_info":[{"term_id":45,"name":"News and Press Releases","slug":"news-and-press-releases","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":45,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":538,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":45,"category_count":538,"category_description":"","cat_name":"News and Press Releases","category_nicename":"news-and-press-releases","category_parent":0},{"term_id":37,"name":"Research and Travel Trends","slug":"research-and-travel-trends","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":37,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":965,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":37,"category_count":965,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Research and Travel Trends","category_nicename":"research-and-travel-trends","category_parent":0},{"term_id":1519,"name":"Sustainability","slug":"sustainability-foundation","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1519,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":1516,"count":29,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":1519,"category_count":29,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Sustainability","category_nicename":"sustainability-foundation","category_parent":1516}],"tag_info":false,"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":45,"label":"News and Press Releases"},{"value":37,"label":"Research and Travel Trends"},{"value":1519,"label":"Sustainability"}]},"mfb_rest_fields":["featured_image_src_large","author_info","comment_info","category_info","tag_info","taxonomy_info"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27213"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27218,"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27213\/revisions\/27218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}