The DRV Deutscher Reiseverband e.V. (German Travel Association) has presented a current study on sustainability in business travel. It shows that environmental protection is becoming increasingly important for companies when traveling to business meetings and events. The survey was conducted in spring 2022 among 100 managing directors of internationally operating companies based in Germany.
Business trips are still an important motivating factor for many employees. But there are new trends, especially in terms of sustainable travel. After two years of lockdowns caused by the worldwide COVID crisis, the number of business trips is now on the rise again. At the same time, business travelers are also becoming more aware of environmental issues. This is shown by the results of the study "Chefsache Business Travel 2022" (in English: "Business Travel 2022 – a management issue"), an initiative of travel management companies in the German Travel Association (DRV).
According to the study, 56% of companies with 250 or more employees now take environmental and social standards into account when making bookings. That is 6% more than at the beginning of 2019. In addition, 54% of business travelers no longer carry required documents on paper, but only digitally. This is an increase of 5% compared to 2019.
It is also interesting that 60% of company representatives say that business trips are increasingly being replaced by virtual meetings in their companies. This is not only for reasons of sustainability, but also in terms of cost reduction. However, doing without face-to-face meetings is not an option. 39% say they attach great importance to getting to know each other in person, especially at the first appointment. For follow-up appointments, almost all respondents said it depends, among other things, on what the business partner wants.
The survey results also provide an interesting correlation: the larger a company is, the more extensive are its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. Only 47% of companies with 250 to 500 employees have launched corresponding initiatives, but 67% of companies with more than 1,000 employees do so. The situation is similar when it comes to whether the topics of sustainability and CO2 reduction have been included into the corporate mission statement and guidelines: 64 percent of large companies do so, but only 45% of smaller companies. In addition, 38% of companies with fewer than 500 employees and 61% of companies with more than 1,000 employees maintain travel policies on sustainability or informal guidelines that serve this goal.
The sustainability trend is particularly strong among companies that work with business travel agencies. For 58% of the companies that have trips organized by a specialized service provider, sustainability plays a major role in the booking process, compared with only 47% of the companies without professional support.
The frequency of business travel also plays a role: Those who travel less on average are less concerned about the environmental impact of the trip (44%). Among frequent travelers with three or more business appointments per month, three out of four respondents pay attention to environmentally friendly behavior.
About the survey:
The survey was conducted in April and May 2022 by the market research institute Schlesinger Group Germany on behalf of the German Travel Association (DRV). 100 managing directors who themselves regularly travel on business, as well as 100 business-traveling executives and specialists from companies with 250 or more employees, took part in the online survey.
The DRV initiative "Chefsache Business Travel" is supported by the travel management companies BCD Travel, Lufthansa City Center, DERPART Travel Service and American Express Global Business Travel. (DRV Survey 2020, link: https://www.chefsache-businesstravel.de/wissen/download/)
Cover image: Green Meetings (EventMasterBook / canva.com)
Related topics:
Business travel, business meeting, business events, events, face-to-face meetings, customer meetings, sales, events, event management, travel management, travel organization, travel agencies, sustainability, green meetings, green events, MICE trends, event trends
(Please note: This article was translated from the German language. Please excuse any errors. The original text can be found at: eventmasterbook.de)
