Once again, my friends at AirPlus have shed some new light on a meetings industry trend through their surveys. This time, AirPlus polled 175 corporate travel managers in November on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives and found that many companies are doing CSR activities, and they expect their suppliers to be good citizens, too. Yet, surprisingly, few have a process in place to inquire about suppliers' efforts.
For example, AirPlus found:
- 55% have implemented "green" initiatives, such as setting goals to reduce the carbon impact of business travel, and 42% expect their preferred suppliers to have their own green initiatives (for example, water conservation and waste recycling programs) in place
- About 59% donate money to charity, while just over 27% expect their travel suppliers to do so
- 53% donate services to charity, and almost 26% expect the same of preferred suppliers
While many companies are taking the high road in their communities and expect their suppliers to take the trip with them, a surprising few actually inquire into their suppliers' CSR activities and policies. For example, the AirPlus data revealed that more than 62% have no plans to include CSR criteria in RFPs to payment companies.
If you're a travel, procurement or meetings manager, make sure your suppliers' CSR policies are aligned with your own -- especially if your commitment to making the earth greener depends on suppliers' own practices. Instruct planners to query airlines, hotels, car rental firms and commercial payment companies on their CSR policies and practices via electronic RFP tools. If you're using a good platform, there should be a feature for asking ad hoc questions.
If you're trying to be a good citizen, take that extra step to make sure your suppliers are, too!
For example, AirPlus found:
- 55% have implemented "green" initiatives, such as setting goals to reduce the carbon impact of business travel, and 42% expect their preferred suppliers to have their own green initiatives (for example, water conservation and waste recycling programs) in place
- About 59% donate money to charity, while just over 27% expect their travel suppliers to do so
- 53% donate services to charity, and almost 26% expect the same of preferred suppliers
While many companies are taking the high road in their communities and expect their suppliers to take the trip with them, a surprising few actually inquire into their suppliers' CSR activities and policies. For example, the AirPlus data revealed that more than 62% have no plans to include CSR criteria in RFPs to payment companies.
If you're a travel, procurement or meetings manager, make sure your suppliers' CSR policies are aligned with your own -- especially if your commitment to making the earth greener depends on suppliers' own practices. Instruct planners to query airlines, hotels, car rental firms and commercial payment companies on their CSR policies and practices via electronic RFP tools. If you're using a good platform, there should be a feature for asking ad hoc questions.
If you're trying to be a good citizen, take that extra step to make sure your suppliers are, too!
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