Business travel and sustainability

Abstract

Business travel has been relatively neglected in strategies to promote sustainable travel. A two-stage approach is taken beginning by showing how sustainability of business travel is relevant not only environmentally, but also from an economic and social perspective. On the one hand, this form of travel helps to generate jobs in numerous business sectors, not only in transportation. On the other hand, the social dimension cannot be ignored either, since business travel is often a source of fatigue and stress, and can generate or exacerbate both health problems and family problems. In the second stage, we consider the strategies that business travellers, companies, and governments may adopt to move business travel in a more sustainable direction. However, as with other forms of travel, business travel cannot be made more sustainable through initiatives that focus solely on travel.