Companies cite insufficient info and cost as significant barriers to implementation of green travel initiatives.

Industry buzz around green travel initiatives has quieted over the past year as companies focused on reducing travel in the face of a weak economy. As the economy begins to recover and companies put their travelers back on the road, those with genuine corporate social responsibility programs will need to refocus their green travel efforts.

A recent survey conducted by AirPlus International revealed that while almost 30 percent of responding companies are measuring the greenhouse gas emissions produced by their travel activities, only about half as many companies – 17 percent – have taken the next step to create and implement policies around managing the carbon footprint of managed travel. In the next 12 months, however, another 17 percent of survey respondents said they would be implementing such policies.

Those numbers suggest a catch-up phase for eco-friendly corporate travel efforts that may have been derailed by a faltering economy. The green travel movement was hitting the mainstream in 2007 just as the economy began its decline into the recession of 2008 and 2009 when travel managers seem to have dropped everything in order to turn their attention to cutting budgets, increasing demand management, applying travel alternatives and responding to pressures to increase value with suppliers.

Interestingly, while many survey respondents may have turned attention away from their internal eco-efforts, they have still been keeping an eye on their suppliers‚ efforts. Within the year, more than 53 percent of survey respondents will consider green criteria in their RFP processes.

Download the free PDF for full survey results.

AirPlus…The Wire March 2010 (PDF, 244KB)

Additional Resources:

Top 10 Challenges to Greening Corporate Travel

Green? Prove It.