On the occasion of ACTE’s Global Education Conference held in Barcelona, Spain, Susan Gurley, Executive Director, ACTE speaks on TravelDailyNews about the initiatives that ACTE takes to raise awareness to the industry on the climate changes and how the lowering of carbon emissions will affect corporate travel.

TravelDailyNews: Kyoto’s protocol, especially with US government negative position towards it, doesn’t seem to bare fruits and ICAO efforts have limited positive impact to carbon emissions. Do you feel that there is need for a more sufficient law framework and how crucial is the compliance of all governments to these efforts?

Susan Gurley: We believe that the government plays an integral role in regulating against environmental degradation, however, increasingly with the advent of Sarbanes Oxley, and a greater commitment by the younger generation to environmentally responsible business, their involvement isn`t fundamental. The interest we have seen in ACTE`s environmentally themed conference is unprecedented with a record number of delegates attending, this level of interest is indicative that organizations such as ACTE, travel managers and key corporate players are playing a more important role.

TDN: Lower carbon emissions mean higher operational cost for airlines. According to your opinion, how will this affect passengers and tourists?

S. G.: I believe that it is important for the airline industry to educate the public on the issue of carbon emissions and the effect that it may have on the environment. There is an increasing emphasis on the individual to consider environmentally responsible decisions and as a result I believe prospective passengers will be willing to pay a supplement to fly if it means a reduction of the carbon footprint. A case in point is my 12 year old daughter who is a regular flyer. She and her peers are well versed in issues regarding the environment and consumer choices. She and many of her peers are already make purchasing decisions based on environmental criteria and will continue to do so. My view is it would be better for the industry and the consumer to start voluntary Co2 reduction programs rather than wait to have this issue become legislated by various governments. As we know voluntary industry programs cost less for the carriers and thus, less for the consumer.

TDN: In Europe and US there are many business travellers that according to recent surveys take many trips during one year. Are companies and organizations willing to pay a higher cost for ‘greener’ flights and how serious will the economical impact be for travel management companies in US and Europe?

S. G.: Most companies have environmentally friendly programs in place and thus, would not be opposed to working with airlines that have their own green programs. Our Barcelona conference will address many of these issues. The simple fact that over 1000 delegates from varying business travel organizations globally are coming together to engage on debate and discussion about best practice environmental solutions suggests that businesses are becoming increasingly committed to reducing the impact of CO2 emissions even if that means incurring an additional cost. The presence of key attendees such as Dr. Riccardo Baeza-Yates Yahoo and Jan Peter Bergkvist, Director of Environmental Sustainability, Hilton International also indicate that commercial organizations are embracing this strategy.

TDN: How do you comment ACTE’s initiative to encourage all delegates attending its conference in Barcelona to use low-emission transportation? In what way could this effort motivate other leading associations in the tourism industry?

S. G.: A number of other business industry bodies have followed ACTE’s lead regarding Corporate Social Responsibility and are including “green education” in their respective curricula. ACTE, as an education association, believes that it is our mission to provide the industry with information on best practices, ideas, and information on subjects that have an impact on the overall industry. Reducing the carbon foot print is an issue that we have brought to the forefront of debate and we are pleased that our members have been interested in learning more.