IHG Hotels & Resorts, GBTA Foundation Convene Sustainability Leaders to Deliberate the Decarbonization of Business Travel

Climate Week NYC event unpacks challenges, opportunities amid a climate-conscious world

IHG Hotels & Resorts and the GBTA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), brought together some of travel’s biggest sustainability leaders during 2024 Climate Week NYC to spark dialogue about the decarbonization of business travel. In collaboration with co-hosts IDEO, Accenture, American Express Global Business Travel, Delta Air Lines and Hertz, the event challenged attendees to explore tensions and collaborative approaches inherent in balancing the necessity of business travel with the imperative to reduce carbon emissions.

Business travel remains a cornerstone of the global economy. According to GBTA’s 2024 Global Business Travel Index Forecast report, global business travel expenditures are expected to hit a record $1.48 trillion USD in 2024, and exceed $2 trillion by 2028. However, as the world grapples with the escalating challenges of climate change, the need to reimagine how travel can be both essential and sustainable has never been more important.

Catherine Dolton, Chief Sustainability Officer, IHG, said: “While business travel continues to evolve and grow, the importance of human connection to solve complex problems and drive business growth remains. Our industry’s scale gives us an important opportunity to reduce carbon emissions, however, to make meaningful strides we must work together more and inspire innovation. At IHG, for example, we continue to innovate through our recently introduced Low Carbon Pioneers initiative. The first community of its kind in the industry, this group of low operational carbon hotels will help us test, learn and share findings on sustainability measures.”

Delphine Millot, Senior Vice President, Sustainability and Managing Director at the GBTA Foundation, said: “GBTA and its Foundation are at the heart of building a sustainable future for global business travel. In fact, Climate Week NYC wouldn’t be possible without the collective power of the business travel industry to bring together businesses and policy makers in person to foster change. The continued success of our industry depends on mobilizing organizations through events this like this as well as our new Sustainability Acceleration Challenge to drive practices that materially reduce emissions from business travel.”

Held at IHG’s Kimpton Hotel Eventi, more than 80 event attendees represented major companies and organizations across all sectors of the travel industry. Using IDEO’s “Creative Tensions” interactive format (developed alongside the Sundance Institute), attendees challenged each other’s thinking on climate action and discussed the industry’s most pressing challenges and opportunities. For example, one key debate centered on whether to prioritize actions with the biggest impact or the fastest results. While attendees had varying approaches, the consensus was that collaboration and innovation are essential to decarbonizing business travel.

Alex Gallafent, Executive Design Director, IDEO, said: “Leaders today must balance competing demands and tensions while transforming their businesses to meet the challenges of the Climate Era, and there are no easy solutions. These tensions, however, are fuel for inspiration, learning, and commitment – discovering how others are approaching similar challenges is critical to making brave choices and acting on them. Building the future isn’t a spectator sport, which is why IDEO is proud to partner with the world’s leading organizations and help them thrive responsibly, sustainably, and in ways that return value to the world.”

Held September 22-29 this year, Climate Week NYC is the largest annual climate event of its kind, bringing together over 600 events and activities across the City of New York – in person, hybrid and online. Each year, global business leaders, political change makers, local decision takers and civil society representatives gather to drive the transition, speed up progress and champion change that is already happening. IHG’s sustainability commitments are driven by its Journey to Tomorrow responsible business plan, which is aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

PHOTO ( left to right): Page Motes, Vice President, Chief Compliance & Sustainability Officer, Hertz; Nazlican Goksu, Design Director, IDEO; Alex Gallafent, Executive Design Director, IDEO; Catherine Dolton, Chief Sustainability Officer, IHG Hotels & Resorts; Amelia Deluca, Chief Sustainability Officer, Delta Air Lines; Delphine Millot, Senior Vice President, Sustainability & Managing Director, GBTA Foundation; Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA; Townsend Bailey, Head of Corporate Responsibility, Americas, IHG Hotels & Resorts

📸: @AndrewWerner