Julien Etchanchu.
Advito’s first-of-its-kind methodology, called GATE4, achieves ISO 14064 and ISO 14065 certification – allowing for more accurate carbon emissions reporting across air, hotel, rail, and car – and enabling travel managers to set and achieve aggressive sustainability goals.
CHICAGO – Leading global travel consultancy, Advito, announce the achievement of ISO 14064 and ISO 14065 certification for GATE4, their proprietary carbon emissions calculation methodology. The ISO 14000 series is the world’s most widely recognized environmental management standard. These standards and certifications were selected specifically to independently validate Advito’s ability to quantify, monitor and report on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and demonstrate the methodology’s integrity and robustness. The consultancy is challenging the industry to take sustainability and carbon reporting seriously, warning there is a high risk to businesses in taking the wrong path and inaccurately reporting on their carbon emissions.
Advito’s methodology yields robust reporting on emissions across air, hotel, rail, and car, on a global and market level. Unique to Advito is a thorough understanding, on a country by country basis, of the impact of electricity mix on different elements, such as hotel energy consumption, rail emissions, and country carbon intensity. The methodology also takes into account multiple components not included in standard carbon reporting, such as passenger to freight ratios, hotel eco-labels, amenities, and rail operators’ individual sustainability initiatives. This allows for a granular level of reporting not previously available, including the ability to accurately calculate hotel emissions at the property level. Advito began piloting the methodology with clients in late 2020, and the ISO certification means that the emissions reporting figures can now be included in annual financial reporting as recognized carbon calculations.
“Meeting the ISO requirements provides independent validation, verification and credibility by reassuring internal and external stakeholders that Advito’s carbon footprint methodologies are accurate, robust and compliant with internationally-recognized GHG measurement and reporting standards,” said the auditor who reviewed the methodology.
Many businesses are now boldly announcing their carbon reduction and Net Zero targets for 2030 to 2050, resulting in the need for accurate carbon reporting, reduction options, and culture change. Advito’s Sustainable Collaboration Practice Lead, Julien Etchanchu, warns that inaccurate carbon reporting and greenwashing through ineffective offsetting programs could lead people to make the wrong decisions.
“We see more companies taking a genuine interest in how they can create a sustainable travel program. This is great, but there is a long way to go. The challenge is knowing where to start, what information to rely upon and what actions to take. Unfortunately, with the existing industry standard, we found that travel managers and buyers were getting inaccurate emissions reporting across all categories, and that our calculations were sometimes 2 to 3 times lower or higher.” commented Julien. “We take this incredibly seriously, as it puts their sustainability goals at risk. We have spent the past 18 months reviewing and evaluating reporting methods to create our own proprietary methodology that is truly the first of its kind. With the achievement of ISO certification, we’re confident that our clients have the most accurate emissions reporting in the industry.”
In addition to effective reporting, Advito is working with clients to define groundbreaking budgeting approaches, focusing on carbon budgeting and carbon accounting. Julien said, “We believe the future of financial accounting and budgeting will focus heavily on environmental costs. This means a robust format for carbon budgeting on a business unit and employee level will be essential. Applying a carbon cost to all travel purchases will also become the norm, as businesses have to look at more than just ticket price when reporting on cost of travel.”
Advito is the first travel consultancy to develop their own auditable, ISO certified carbon reporting methodology, and the first to create a dedicated practice area for sustainable business travel. The methodology’s name, GATE4, stands for Global Analytics for Travel Emissions, and the 4 represents both the four areas of business travel where the methodology can be applied (air, hotel, rail and car), and the IPCC’s directive that GHG emissions must be reduced by a factor of four by 2050 to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.
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She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
