In our last edition of “Bow-Tie Briefing” two weeks ago, we explained the background to the 17 United Nations Sustainability Goals (SDGs) and the fact that some travel managers had reported that the downtime caused by Covid-19 provided a golden opportunity to revitalise and perfect their travel policies by incorporating SDGs into the travel programme. The application of two SDGs to the corporate travel industry were discussed, namely: SDG 3) Good health and well-being and SDG 7) Affordable and clean energy.
In Part 2 let us continue to explore three more SDGs and discover how can these goals be incorporated into our corporate travel programmes to create a new horizon to our world. This time we consider goals numbers 9, 10 and 12.
SDG 9 – industry, innovation and infrastructure
“Inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, together with innovation and infrastructure, can unleash dynamic and competitive economic forces that generate employment and income. They play a key role in introducing and promoting new technologies, facilitating international trade and enabling the efficient use of resources”.
One example in our industry is the further growth of virtual meetings and events instead of physically attending the traditional ones. “Events and exhibitions are definitely a major spend in southeast Asia and Siemens has internal technology to hold events and partner meetings.” said Jane Sim, commodity manager ASEAN for Siemens.
She added: “We started analysing our use of virtual meetings and events a year ago and are looking for capable partners to help us achieve this.” Undoubtedly, new innovation and technology will continue to be disruptors in the world.
SDG 10 – reduced inequalities
“To reduce inequalities, policies should be universal in principle, paying attention to the needs of disadvantaged and marginalised populations”. When selecting corporate travel service vendors, travel managers can put more emphasis on whether the suppliers are equal employment opportunity firms.
Questions can be asked such as: Do they employ a certain number of physically handicapped staff? What is the male/female staff ratio? Do they have official programmes or designate a company department to handle key responsibilities in the areas of corporate social responsibility or corporate sustainability? With the recent global “Black Life Matters” campaign, many corporations are reexamining their corporate policy, including travel policies.
In an open letter by Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, he stated: “To create change, we have to reexamine our own views and actions in light of a pain that is deeply felt but too often ignored. Issues of human dignity will not abide standing on the sidelines. To the Black community — we see you. You matter and your lives matter.”
SDG 12 – responsible consumption and production
“Worldwide consumption and production — a driving force of the global economy — rest on the use of the natural environment and resources in a way that continues to have destructive impacts on the planet.” Food wastage is one of the main areas of concern.
The following is an example from Hong Kong. Procurement managers could consider joining the established government programme – Food wise Charter which is a Hong Kong Government initiative to encourage Hong Kong businesses/organisations to adopt measures to reduce food waste within their establishments and through the reduction of food waste by over the top consumption.
Companies can implement policies to promote best practice and behavioural change to reduce food waste by the staff, particularly when they are on business trips. To realise the vision of a truly sustainable world, we need to transform the way we produce and consume our natural resources. We can all play a useful part to reduce food waste for the benefit of our community.
In a sneak preview of the next “Bow-tie Briefing”, we will continue to discuss two more UN Sustainable Development Goals that can have substantial application in our corporate travel industry. Then we will make a constructive conclusion on how our corporate travel industry can lead the way for a better future. Stay tuned!
(Bow-Tie Briefing shares the views of Benson Tang, a corporate travel thought leader and Executive Director of the Corporate Travel Community (CTC).)
