(Finance) – 85% of Italian companies are returning to pre-pandemic volumes of national travel and 72% of international travel but according to Corporate Travel Sustainability Index, survey conducted by SAP Concur, most businesses find it difficult to get greener.
All senior travel managers within Italian companies think that sustainability is part of their travel policy, but – the survey finds – despite the desire to align with the United Nations 2030 goals, only 29% of Italian companies have a dedicated managerial figure, as a sustainability manager or chief sustainability officer, compared to 40% in Germany and Spain and 37% in France. At the same time, 15% of Italian organizations have an entire team dedicated to improving sustainability within the organization, compared to 14% in Spain, 8% in France and 4% in Germany.
The awareness of having to give priority to this issue, however, is not lacking. 54% of managers – reads the report – believe that their travel policy should be improved when it comes to sustainability issues, but they have to deal with the problems inherent in companies, such as lack of budgetwhich represents for more than four out of ten companies (42%) a fundamental obstacle to the development of a more sustainable corporate travel program and the lack of employee involvement against which nearly four out of ten companies (38%) are struggling.
“Although many companies today are reducing their carbon footprint or becoming carbon neutral, according to the survey conducted by SAP Concur, it is clear that several are still unsure how to incorporate sustainability into their business travels,” he explains. Pierre-Emmanuel Tetaz, Emea svp and general manager, SAP Concur -. We foresee an increase in the demand for greater sustainability, also with regard to the corporate travel policy, which will be raised with greater force, more often and by various parties, from management, from employees to suppliers to stakeholders. It is therefore essential to create dedicated teams capable of developing an effective sustainability strategy, as part of a program to support their employees on the road in making greener choices, supported by the right tools to help them make informed decisions. “
Although 26% of respondents believe they need to make a change to their sustainability policies but are unsure how, there is a clear need for technological tools that facilitate the measurement and implementation of more sustainable corporate travel programs. While about half of companies (49%) – the report concludes – already have software tools to support corporate travel, 96% of those without them would consider them.