Our sustainability journey: redefining business travel to preserve our planet
Our journey towards sustainable business travel begins with establishing a strategic vision for impactful initiatives which also align with our commitment to help our people, the planet, and our customers.
Kelly Thomas - General Manager, FCM NZ
“Our purpose is to open up the world for those who want to see and as one of New Zealand’s largest corporate travel managers, we recognise our responsibility to preserve the places we love while enriching our people, destinations and communities.
Sustainability is high on the priority list for us – looking at how we can do better as a business, as well as help our customers achieve their own sustainability goals.”
Our accomplishments to date
As part of one of the world’s largest travel providers, the Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG), FCM NZ is committed to collaborating with our people, customers and communities to create opportunities to open up the world in the most responsible way.
At the cornerstone of our commitment is the fostering of diversity, equity, and inclusion within our workplaces. While also championing sustainable travel options for our customers and contributing to the well-being of the communities where we operate. All whilst minimising our footprint for the benefit of our planet.
We are working towards a goal of operating ethically and responsibly while supporting our customers to do the same. How? By reducing inequalities that exist both locally and globally, we have committed to addressing nine of the Sustainable Development Goals in the United Nations Global Compact.
Working closely with our new Global Sustainability Officer, we are also increasing our focus on the company’s business practices and environmental, social and corporate governance responsibilities, including:
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Environmental: Our company has committed to Science Based Target initiatives (SBTi) to achieve net zero by 2050.
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Social: Embracing workforce diversity and inclusion, plus health, wealth and parenting support. We also support our people to confidently embrace the use of Te Reo Māori in all our workplaces.
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Governance: We have adopted a code of conduct to make every employee and partner proud, guiding our actions from sustainability to raising awareness around corruption, modern slavery and human trafficking.
Sustainability challenges and considerations
We have taken positive steps towards aligning our purpose with measurable goals - and we’re taking our people, customer and partners along for the journey!
It’s clear to us at FCM that we can no longer just rely on government initiatives and regulations to protect our planet - every company has a real and moral obligation to integrate sustainability into their company.
When your company chooses to be more sustainable, you gain:
• Improved brand value and reputation
• Business continuity - anticipating and managing risks
• Increased productivity
• Enhanced business culture
• Improved stakeholder relations
• Legislative compliance
FCM can support your sustainability goals
In an era of escalating global carbon emissions from travel, the call for business travel programs to adopt sustainability and curtail their environmental footprint is more pressing than ever. However, for many companies, navigating these objectives can seem formidable. The manual tracking, calculating and carbon offsetting can be time consuming, prone to inaccuracies, and downright challenging!
But through Savi, our online booking tool (OBT), we work with Tasman Environmental Markets (TEM) which has enabled greenhouse gas emissions visibility and offsetting to become part of our online booking experience.
For clients looking to offset their travel, we work with a range of partners that supply transparent, verified offsetting projects locally and internationally.
SAVI’s carbon functionality can include:
• Hybrid and electric battery rental car preferencing
• Visualisation of the CO2e impact of different flight options
• Granular emissions calculations that consider seat class and aircraft type
• Viewing your company’s offsetting investment and the projects you’re contributing towards
• Push CO2e emissions and offsetting data to live reporting
Emerging sustainability patterns in corporate travel
Sustainability now extends beyond merely 'saving the planet.' Companies are set to embrace an ESG-centric approach in shaping and evaluating their travel programs. And while cutting emissions remains pivotal, the new emphasis is on empowering your travellers with insights to make conscientious choices.
Be a force for good and get ready for a comprehensive approach to sustainable business travel – starting with your travel program, with the help of FCM.
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In our FCM Reporting tool, we offer features to visually show your CO2e emissions across various categories like hotel, air, and land transport. This integrated visual tool empowers you to actively track and manage your emissions.
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We’ll help take your travel policy to the next level because even the smallest change, like adjusting your business class policy or promoting direct flights, can make a big impact.
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Our team is committed to collaborating with you to effectively reduce your emissions. We do this by connecting you with our carbon offsetting expert partners who have access to a range of carbon mitigation projects, capable of making significant impacts beyond your business.
If all of this has made you think about how you do business, dive into our new sustainability whitepaper looking exclusively at the business travel.