NBTA Recognizes Companies That Care

A well-developed sense of corporate social responsibility (CSR) will be paying dividends for Allied member Marriott International as well as Direct member Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) this coming week at the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) International Convention & Exposition in Houston.

As winners of the annual NBTA Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards, both organizations are being recognized for their implementation of “innovative and significant CSR initiatives as a part of their business travel programs.”

ANZ’s travel CSR initiatives are part of a company-wide strategy to ensure responsible travel practices across its business. That approach includes consideration of carbon emissions associated with travel, increased use of technology to minimize unnecessary travel, and duty of care for employees.

In line with these goals, ANZ has been publicly reporting carbon emissions associated with air travel for more than five years. This year, ANZ began to monitor the carbon impacts of additional areas of corporate travel, including carbon emissions associated with hotel accommodation, car hire and taxi travel.

As for taking care of employees, ANZ’s travel policy mandates the use of approved booking channels to ensure traveler whereabouts are known at all times, and the company actively manages travel to high-risk destinations.

Topping the Allied (travel supplier) category, Marriott International’s environmental strategy, set by an executive-level Green Council, is designed in partnership with Conservation International. Marriott has a stated goal of reducing emissions up to 25% by 2017 and reports annually to the Carbon Disclosure Project.

Other Marriott International initiatives include:

* Managing Company Travel — Safety initiatives include tools and resources for trip planning, including destination security reports, a 24/7 Crisis Hotline, and a traveler tracking system enabling the company to locate employees should an emergency or crisis arise. Additionally, the Travel Health program provides records of travel medicine immunizations, medical travel kits, pre-trip information and a post-trip consultation.

* Employee and Guest Engagement — Marriott is prodding employees and guests to support the environment through everyday actions at home, at work and while traveling. For example, through the “Spirit to Preserve the Rainforest” meetings promotion, Marriott donates 5% of the total cost of a group’s guest rooms to help preserve the Amazon rainforest.

* Water, Waste and Energy Reduction — Having reduced water consumption per available room by 8.2% and energy per available room by 11% over two years, Marriott’s stated goal is to further reduce fuel and water consumption by 25% per available room by 2017. In a related note, Marriott’s landfill waste in the U.S. was reduced 17% between 2007 and 2009 as a result of the company’s focus on recycling.

* Supply Chain- Marriott is engaging its top 40 vendors to supply price-neutral greener products across 12 categories. Products rolled out in the past two years include key cards and ink pens made from recycled material, housekeeping uniforms, Low VOC paint, biodegradable laundry bags, low-energy light bulbs, low environmental impact carpet, and water-efficient shower heads and toilets.

The applications submitted for this second year of the NBTA CSR Awards program point to an increased focus on sustainability and social responsibility within corporate travel,” said NBTA CSR Committee Chair Robert C. Wade, CCTE. He added that ANZ and Marriott International “were chosen based on a rigorous application and selection process designed to highlight the best-in-breed travel CSR initiatives.”

In a related announcement, Project ICARUS, a program of CSR awards, accreditation and tools administered by the U.K. and Ireland Institute of Travel & Meetings (ITM), endorsed the NBTA CSR Awards.