IHG Inns & Resorts and the GBTA Basis, the charitable arm of the World Enterprise Journey Affiliation (GBTA), introduced collectively a few of journey’s largest sustainability leaders yesterday throughout 2024 Local weather Week NYC to spark dialogue concerning the decarbonization of enterprise journey. In collaboration with co-hosts IDEO, Accenture, American Specific World Enterprise Journey, Delta Air Traces and Hertz, the occasion challenged attendees to discover tensions and collaborative approaches inherent in balancing the need of enterprise journey with the crucial to scale back carbon emissions.
Enterprise journey stays a cornerstone of the worldwide financial system. In accordance with GBTA’s 2024 World Enterprise Journey Index Forecast report, world enterprise journey expenditures are anticipated to hit a document $1.48 trillion USD in 2024, and exceed $2 trillion by 2028. Nonetheless, because the world grapples with the escalating challenges of local weather change, the necessity to reimagine how journey may be each important and sustainable has by no means been extra essential.
Catherine Dolton, Chief Sustainability Officer, IHG, mentioned: “Whereas enterprise journey continues to evolve and develop, the significance of human connection to resolve complicated issues and drive enterprise development stays. Our trade’s scale offers us an essential alternative to scale back carbon emissions, nonetheless, to make significant strides we should work collectively extra and encourage innovation. At IHG, for instance, we proceed to innovate by way of our lately launched Low Carbon Pioneers initiative. The primary neighborhood of its form within the trade, this group of low operational carbon accommodations will assist us check, be taught and share findings on sustainability measures.”
Delphine Millot, Senior Vice President, Sustainability and Managing Director on the GBTA Basis, mentioned: “GBTA and its Basis are on the coronary heart of constructing a sustainable future for world enterprise journey. In reality, Local weather Week NYC wouldn’t be doable with out the collective energy of the enterprise journey trade to convey collectively companies and coverage makers in particular person to foster change. The continued success of our trade is dependent upon mobilizing organizations by way of occasions this like this in addition to our new Sustainability Acceleration Problem to drive practices that materially cut back emissions from enterprise journey.”
Held at IHG’s Kimpton Lodge Eventi, greater than 80 occasion attendees represented main corporations and organizations throughout all sectors of the journey trade. Utilizing IDEO’s “Inventive Tensions” interactive format (developed alongside the Sundance Institute), attendees challenged one another’s considering on local weather motion and mentioned the trade’s most urgent challenges and alternatives. For instance, one key debate centered on whether or not to prioritize actions with the most important affect or the quickest outcomes. Whereas attendees had various approaches, the consensus was that collaboration and innovation are important to decarbonizing enterprise journey.
Alex Gallafent, Govt Design Director, IDEO, mentioned: “Leaders at this time should steadiness competing calls for and tensions whereas reworking their companies to satisfy the challenges of the Local weather Period, and there are not any straightforward options. These tensions, nonetheless, are gas for inspiration, studying, and dedication – discovering how others are approaching comparable challenges is important to creating courageous selections and appearing on them. Constructing the longer term isn’t a spectator sport, which is why IDEO is proud to accomplice with the world’s main organizations and assist them thrive responsibly, sustainably, and in ways in which return worth to the world.”
Held September 22-29 this yr, Local weather Week NYC is the biggest annual local weather occasion of its form, bringing collectively over 600 occasions and actions throughout the Metropolis of New York – in particular person, hybrid and on-line. Every year, world enterprise leaders, political change makers, native determination takers and civil society representatives collect to drive the transition, velocity up progress and champion change that’s already taking place.
IHG’s sustainability commitments are pushed by its Journey to Tomorrow accountable marketing strategy, which is aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Growth Targets.
