The Mission Zero capability in Zeno empowers business travellers to make informed booking choices by displaying the carbon offset data associated with flights within the booking flow.
Serko Limited, a leader in travel and expense management for business, announced the launch of an initiative to drive meaningful reduction in the environmental impact of business travel called Mission Zero.
The Mission Zero capability in Zeno empowers business travellers to make informed booking choices by displaying the carbon offset data associated with flights within the booking flow, prioritizing lower emission rental car options, and providing customers with the ability to offset emissions for a net zero travel program through an integrated selection of targeted environmental programs.
Organizations are facing increasing pressure to 'walk the talk' when it comes to their commitment to minimize their impacts on the environment. Companies must substantiate their commitments to reducing their carbon emissions impact by taking clear, actionable steps that lighten their environmental footprint. With travel contributing around 8% of global CO2 emissions, delivering a cleaner travel program is now a key priority for many travel managers.
Dr. Benson Tang, Executive Director of Corporate Travel Community described the challenge: "In a recent CAPA survey, 74% of travel managers in the Asia Pacific region have told us that sustainability will play an important role in their corporate travel programs in the next 12 months, and yet for many, it remains difficult for their travellers to make informed decisions when it comes to booking more environmentally friendly options.”
Jo Phipps, Head of Product for Zeno, said, “At Serko, we believe that for a sustainable business travel program to be realized, individual travellers need to be able to understand how their choice of travel impacts their carbon emissions. Mission Zero visually highlights personalised carbon offset data according to the aircraft and class of travel within the Zeno booking flow so that travellers can make better choices and facilitate the path to a carbon neutral travel program.”
Serko has partnered with Tasman Environmental Markets (TEM) to integrate BlueHalo, an end-to-end technology solution that enables travellers and businesses to offset their travel. Through this partnership, Zeno can instantly calculate and offset the emissions of a journey. TEM’s ability to provide granular, dynamic carbon offset data based on choice of fare gives Zeno customers the ability to build a robust carbon offset program and further drive sustainable choices within their businesses.
Peter Castellas, CEO of TEM said, “Our partnership with Serko is an exciting one for the corporate travel sector as it demonstrates the power of BlueHalo technology in delivering positive climate outcomes. By bringing highly sophisticated travel booking system Zeno together with accurate emissions data, that can enable investment in high quality offset projects, we are making it so easy to travel sustainably. BlueHalo offered through Zeno will set the new global standard for corporate travel solutions.”
Serko’s vision for supporting efficient business travel with Zeno Mission Zero is built around 4 principles:
1. Real-time data
A sustainability program is only as good as the environmental impact data it’s built on. Serko has worked with its partners to ensure Zeno users are able to access the most granular data possible; providing the ability to compare the impact of different flight options as well as cabin classes. Not just limited to air miles, in the future Zeno users will be able to measure the impact of their entire trip, from accommodation choices to rental car options, and make comparisons between alternative options such as rail or car.
2. Informed choice
With enhanced insights, travel programs can be designed to optimize travel purchasing to minimize environmental impact, not just financial cost. The most efficient flight routes and cabin classes can be identified to drive more sustainable choices where it really matters – at the point of purchase. Electric and hybrid vehicles can be prioritized in search results to drive more sustainable buying behaviour, highlighting to travellers the part they’re playing in reducing the environmental impact of their trip.
3. Impact visibility
By providing complete visibility of a business travel program’s environmental impacts, Zeno gives organizations the insights they need to drive policy choices that get their travellers where they need to go, while treading as lightly as possible.
4. Net Zero impact
To achieve carbon balance, companies must rigorously calculate their emissions, reduce them as much as possible, then purchase and retire carbon offsets to the equivalent of the remaining emissions. Carbon offsetting is a powerful component of an organisation’s climate strategy – a measurable and credible way to neutralise an organisation’s greenhouse emissions by investing in carefully chosen carbon offset projects to deliver social and economic benefits to communities over and above emissions reduction.
Zeno Mission Zero will be available to Zeno users globally during the fourth quarter of 2021 and can be activated by contacting your certified Zeno reseller travel management company.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
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.
