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Will Green Initiatives/CSR Survive a Down Economy?

Posted in Blog, The Wire by AirPlus US Team
Tags: Corporate Social Responsibility, environmental commitment, The Wire

This month, The Wire…from AirPlus reveals that corporate travel managers feel that environment-savvy business travel and corporate social responsibility are not a priority for most in the short term; however, the long-term outlook is more positive. While only 3 percent of responding companies indicated that the economy had stopped a planned green/CSR initiative, more than 19 percent of respondents said that existing initiatives had been overshadowed by the faltering economy and pressures to cut costs.

Interestingly, the AirPlus survey, which primarily focused on green travel/CSR efforts in the United States, also revealed that more than 30 percent of corporations had no green or CSR efforts in place and had no plans to implement such efforts. (For an interesting contrast of U.S. versus European companies when it comes to green initiatives and CSR, visit the link to the ACTE survey in the “Additional Resources” section.) More than 12 percent of companies seem to be spinning their use of travel alternatives and demand management initiatives with a message of environmental awareness.

Despite the downward trend in green travel/CSR efforts in the immediate future, other indicators show that environmental and social responsibility may play a pivotal role as corporations continue to court loyalty both in the marketplace and from their employees. Nearly 57 percent of respondents said they believed that sound green/CSR policies could increase brand loyalty and/or employee good will—in other words, promoting such policies could help corporations grow their businesses.