GBT also releases annual environmental, social and governance report, capping a year of progress on corporate social responsibility initiatives
London, UK – 17 June, 2020 – American Express Global Business Travel (GBT), the world’s leading business partner for managed travel, has launched a new sustainability feature in its corporate travel and expense software, Neo™. The travel management platform has a new carbon emissions filter to help travellers make better informed booking decisions. Search results for air and rail tickets can now be filtered in order of their carbon emissions.
“Sustainable travel remains a top priority for the corporate community,” said Andrew Crawley, GBT’s Chief Commercial Officer. “We have spoken to our customers and travellers, and we share their desire to carve out the most sustainable path forward for our industry. The new Neo emissions filter lets travellers consider their carbon footprint.”
GBT is working with companies around the world to prepare to get business travellers moving again. While travel managers are focused on programme optimisation, cost control and duty of care, they have not lost sight of their sustainability objectives. In a survey conducted by the Institute of Travel Management (ITM) in May 2020, 96% of its travel buyer members said the issue remained a top priority.
Meanwhile, GBT has published its annual environmental, social and governance (ESG) report, which details progress made on key corporate social responsibility priorities during the preceding year.
Si-Yeon Kim, GBT’s Chief Risk & Compliance Officer, said: “If we have learned anything from recent months, it’s that societies and economies suffer when people movement is restricted. It has strengthened our belief that travel is a force for good, enriching our cultural ties and powering economies across the world.
“We take a holistic approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) that interconnects all GBT’s ESG initiatives. 2019 was a landmark year, with teams across the company driving our ESG standards to new heights. While we are proud of our progress, we know there is still much more work to do,” added Kim.
The report’s highlights include:
Environment & Sustainability
GBT’s environmental programs achieved significant milestones in 2019. It became the first global travel management company (TMC) to offset 100% of its emissions from employee business travel. Earlier this year GBT announced its goal to become carbon neutral across all its operations.
Also last year, GBT began an environmental impact assessment of all sites, tracking key environmental indicators, such as energy efficiency with motion sensors and LED lighting, water savings via filtering systems, waste reduction with recycling, and implementing positive changes in all locations. Single-use plastics, Styrofoam, and wax-coated paper were replaced with reusable cups, glasses, and dishes in its major locations, including Australia, India, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Social, Diversity & Inclusion
GBT has three employee networks focused on promoting diversity and inclusion.
A network for LGBTA employees: GBT has for five consecutive years been awarded a perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Right Campaign Foundation. The CEI measures the success of LGBTQ-inclusive policies, practices, and benefits in the workplace.
In March 2019, GBT launched Women of the World, a network designed to develop female employees and increase representation at all levels. Most recently, the Black Engagement Network was established for black employees and colleagues across the company to create a support group, provide development opportunities and increase black representation at all levels.
“It is our collective responsibility to create an environment that gives people a sense of belonging and a culture that values and respects every individual no matter who they are or where they are from,” said Paul Abbott, GBT’s Chief Executive Officer.
In August 2019, GBT announced its flagship global charitable cause – getting children back to school in times of crisis – and its multi-year partnership with UNICEF USA in support of their global efforts to provide safe and quality education for the world’s most vulnerable children.
Governance, Risk & Compliance
Through 2019, the company maintained its rigorous approach to regulatory compliance training for employees across topics ranging from privacy, information security, money laundering and fraud prevention, anti-corruption and antitrust to incident management and business continuity.
To view the full GBT19 Environmental, Social and Governance Report for 2019 please visit: https://www.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com/corporate-social-responsibility/
Visit amexglobalbusinesstravel.com for more information about GBT, and follow @amexgbt on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
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About American Express Global Business Travel
American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) is the world’s leading business partner for managed travel. We help companies and their employees prosper by making sure travellers are present where and when it matters. We keep global business moving with the powerful backing of 18,000 travel professionals in more than 140 countries. Companies of all sizes, and in all places, rely on GBT to provide travel management services, organise meetings and events, and deliver business travel consulting.