Making Your Sustainability Goals Their Business

Corporate travel firm Beyond Business Travel was launched with sustainability in mind back in 2010 and today it’s at the forefront of saving carbon emissions at some of the largest firms in NI through smart technology and data. Here, Managing Director, Shauna Burns, explains how it is minimising corporate carbon footprints when travel is key to operations.

It is something of an oxymoron to couple business travel, especially air travel, with sustainability and a green agenda, but it’s being made possible at Belfast-based Beyond Business Travel.

Shauna Burns, managing director at the business, says now travel has opened again and many firms are taking new, “more impactful” business trips, there has been a shifting demand for CO2 data and an inclination to offset with a greener environment in mind.

“Travel has definitely opened up again and we are busy with transaction volumes back to over 50% of pre-Covid levels. Travel is still a core part of businesses who value face-to-face meetings,” she says.

“In terms of trends, the level of business travel is correlated to a business’ approach to three areas: the culture in the organisation and the importance of site visits and meeting colleagues, the competitor’s approach to face-to-face meetings, and client expectations.”

The return to business travel has also seen a renewed corporate conscience in carbon emissions, which is where Beyond Business Travel’s investment in technology to support this need has proven invaluable.

“We understand that travel contributes to a company’s carbon footprint. Research shows that 8% of greenhouse gas emissions come from travel globally and we recognise that, but there are ways and means to counteract it and give businesses access to their activity and help them become more sustainable,” Shauna explains.

There are three different strands to Beyond Business Travel’s sustainability package – elements that support a customer’s drive to travel but minimise its contribution to emissions.

This includes helping clients make smarter travel choices before they travel.

“We provide consultation services to our clients and help contribute to their sustainability goals by integrating and updating travel policies, implementing these changes and monitoring progress.

“Our intelligent travel technology will tell clients CO2 emissions on any particular flight, car journey and even the hotel that they’re staying in before they even set off, and they can look at different suppliers to alter those emissions further,” says Shauna.

Monitoring CO2 levels during travel to track and measure results is another way to ensure a firm remains environmentally conscious. This can be beneficial for those businesses who have to present such data when tendering.

“Monitoring and budgeting your CO2 emissions is the right thing to do as a company but secondly it can be crucial for those businesses in the tendering process where part of that process is illustrating a good sustainability strategy.

“We can provide data based on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ calculations for our clients by trip, by sector, by hotel. We make it easy for them.

“When CO2 emissions are unavoidable, mitigation becomes the next step,” she adds.

“We work with clients with the goal to minimise their environmental impact where they can, and counteract it where they can’t. We have developed automated travel data hand-offs to our offsetting partners for offsetting solutions for our carbon-conscious clients.

“An example of that is, say, for a trip to Paris, you could plant one tree via one of our credible certified offsetting partners. In many cases it’s only pounds that you need to add to the cost of one trip to offset it but there are numerous types of offsetting solutions to choose from.”

The company’s unique approach to environmentally conscious is not a new thing. Even at its inception, sustainability was its focus.

Shauna says: “Beyond Business Travel has always been about sustainability. When I joined the business, Edel Doherty (founder) said she wanted to be a paperless office. She had that vision, that cultural ambition in terms of sustainable technology, and we have developed a proposition that will get businesses where they want to be and more sustainably.”

As well as offering sustainability solutions, the firm is also at the forefront of the corporate travel industry when it comes to technology. With travel tech part of the firm’s biggest USP and with many of Ireland’s top 100 clients in their books, it proves it’s a reliable provider.

Shauna says the firm is rebuilding business travel through technology and its investment in this area over the last seven years has resulted in the business winning over 20 new corporate clients in 2021, “when most companies were not travelling”.

“When we showcase our technology to prospective clients, they immediately see the value of what we provide to their business.

“We have also invested in a new head of technology to ensure our IT solutions remain innovative and advance at pace.”

Eamonn Murray has taken on that post bringing with him more than 25 years’ experience in the travel industry. He will be based at Beyond Business Travel’s Dublin office and support the company’s strategy of growing its customer base in Ireland and across the EMEA region.

Shauna adds: “Eamonn brings a wealth of knowledge in travel and technology, with an excellent track record of growing businesses and delivering strategic and digital transformation.”

Looking ahead, she’s confident the business has all the tools and intelligence in place to thrive in our new corporate travel world.

She adds: “Covid-19 has been challenging for the travel industry over the last 24 months. But we are determined to show resilience by continuing to invest in our people and technology to provide excellent customer propositions across all our services.”