Programme

Main Stage Opening Session

Welcome Address

Mark Cuschieri, GBTA President, Global Head of Travel UBS
Delphine Millot, SVP Sustainability, MD GBTA Foundation

From Policy to Practice: The road to sustainable transportation

Jakop Dalunde, Former Member of European Parliament
Delphine Millot, SVP Sustainability, MD GBTA Foundation

Drawing on his extensive experience in the European Parliament, MEP Jakop Dalunde will discuss the latest innovations, successful policy implementations, and the future landscape of sustainable transportation. This session will provide valuable insights into how the travel and transportation industry can transition towards more sustainable practices, highlighting the importance of collaboration, technological advancements, and supportive infrastructure.

Getting Ahead: How to prepare for CSRD and upcoming ESG rules

Priti Hoffmann, Partner, Sustainability and Decarbonisation, Deloitte
Ben Park, Executive Director, Travel and Sustainability, Parexel; Chair GBTA Advisory Board

As the European Union continues to advance its regulatory framework around sustainability, businesses must stay ahead of the curve to ensure compliance and capitalize on new opportunities. This session will provide a comprehensive overview of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the latest developments in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) regulations within the EU.

Sustainable Procurement: Mapping the way forward

Kelsey Frenkiel, Director, Sustainability Program, GBTA Foundation

Sustainable practices are becoming increasingly important in corporate travel. GBTA research shows many buyers now evaluate suppliers based on sustainability, with one-third choosing those aligned with their goals. In response, GBTA and the GBTA Foundation, alongside the Sustainability Committee, launched the Sustainable Procurement Standards, empowering buyers to make informed decisions. This session will highlight industry progress since the launch, discuss ongoing challenges, and explore what’s next for sustainable procurement.

Breakout Education Sessions

(Sessions running in parallel)

Sustainable Procurement in Hospitality: Evaluating Hotel Sustainability for Business Travel

Prof. Willy Legrand, Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management, International University of Applied Sciences
Eric Eduardo Ricaurte, CEO, Greenview
Sara Digiesi, CEO, BWH Hotels Italy & Malta
Victor Lim, Global Travel Leader, IKEA (Ingka Group)

Discover how hotels are transforming their sustainability practices beyond mere lodging to encompass comprehensive services like meetings, events, and dining. Join us to navigate the complexities of evaluating hotel sustainability—from carbon footprints to community impacts—and learn practical strategies for integrating sustainability goals into your procurement processes.

Navigating Carbon Complexity: Unpacking Aviation Emissions at Point-of-Sale

Benjamin Chapman, Director – Aircraft & Sustainability, ICF
Sally Davey, CEO, Travalyst
Jessica Matthias, Global Sustainability Director, Sabre
Edward Fotheringham, Vice President, Global Sales, SAS – Scandinavian Airlines

Aviation presents one of the biggest challenges, and biggest opportunities, to mitigate carbon emissions of business travel programs. But what’s behind the emissions metrics presented at the point-of-sale? What do travel managers who are integrating these metrics into their corporate booking systems need to know, and how can they better educate their travellers? In this session, panelists will explore the complexities of calculating carbon emissions, including non-CO2 effects, in aviation. You’ll learn about methodologies like the TIM model and CO2 Connect that shape airline sustainability metrics at the point-of-sale, and gain insights from industry experts on navigating these challenges to effectively assess carbon impacts from airline partners.

A Siemens Case Study: Leveraging Technology to Reach Sustainability Goals

Made possible by BCD Travel

Olivier Benoit, Senior Vice President, Global, Advito
Lutz Nauert, SVP Global Client Team, BCD Travel
Susanne Steinmann, Head of global Airline Procurement/Payment Solution/Data/Sustainability, Siemens AG
Philipp von Lamezan, CEO at Squake

Empowering business travelers to make sustainability choices when booking isn’t simple. Non-standardized emissions data, fragmented reporting and inadequate information at point-of-sale present challenges for even the most seasoned travel manager. Hear from a team who’s taking an innovative approach towards sustainability, and learn how you can use technology to help define the cost of CO2 emissions, set emissions budgets and steer towards a more sustainable travel program.

Unlocking the potential of rail and multimodal travel

Charles Feld, Director for Energy, Environment, and Transport, Grayling
Jakop Dalunde, Former Member of European Parliament
Jenny Sabineu, Senior Manager, Travel (EMEA/LATAM) & Sustainability, Salesforce
Charlie Baikie, Head of Commercial, Trainline

Business travellers have long welcomed the use of innovative technologies to increase the efficiency of bookings and travel itself. Digital tools can play a key role in facilitating seamless and multimodal travel experiences at the point of sale. However, challenges exist in technology and infrastructure, amongst others. This panel will explore the opportunities of a robust rail and multimodal booking system for Europe and discuss the issues to be solved to realise this.

Breakout Education Sessions

(Sessions running in parallel)

How to reduce business travel emissions without reducing business outcomes?

Adam Braun, CEO & Co-Founder, Clarasight
Mia Andersson, Head of Global Travel Management , Scania
Olivier Benoit, Senior Vice President, Global, Advito

Designed for corporate travel managers and business leaders, this session tackles the crucial question: “How can businesses reduce emissions while accelerating outcomes?” Gain actionable insights on balancing emissions reduction with business needs and leave equipped to develop an action plan for emissions reduction initiatives, future-proof your organization, measure impact, communicate progress, and empower key people to drive organizational change.

Enabling Change: Taking Action in Aviation Today to Prepare for Tomorrow

Made possible by easyJet

Bev Fearis Editor, The Business Travel Magazine
Lahiru Ranasinghe, Head of Net Zero, easyJet
Sally Davey, CEO, Travalyst
Gilles Biot, Environment and Sustainability Manager, Airbus SAS

2050 is not that far away in the world of aviation. To reduce our impact today and pioneer future travel we need to manage short, medium and long term solutions all at once. Answering the question ‘when you need to fly, how can you choose to travel in a less unsustainable way?’, join our panellists as they discuss the steps already in place to reduce carbon emissions for in-flight and ground operations, the technology currently in development, why work needs to happen simultaneously to prepare for future solutions, and the important part the business travel industry plays in the future of aviation.

Grow or Thrive? The case for donut economics in sustainable travel

Julien Etchanchu, Senior Director, Sustainable Collaboration, Advito

In recent years, we’ve been inundated with sustainability buzzwords and quick fixes to address travel’s role in global carbon emissions. But what if, to make a real impact, we need to challenge the status quo? In this forward-thinking lecture, you’ll discover how one development model – Kate Raworth’s Donut Economics – might be the path forward. Join this session to explore how the industry can adopt Donut Economics to combat climate change and transform business travel’s sustainability approach to achieve real progress.

The new EU landscape for climate policies

Nicole Sautter, Director Global Sustainability, Amex GBT
Shane Downey, Vice President, Government and Community Relations, GBTA
Charles Feld, Director for Energy, Environment, and Transport, Grayling

EU Elections have concluded. New members of the EU Parliament have been elected and new Commissioners have been selected. This breakout will explore these changes and the effects they will have on current and future environmental policies that are agreed upon in Brussels. Attendees will have a better understanding of how to prepare for remaining and new climate files and what GBTA will be advocating for in the next 5 years.

Main Stage Closing Session

Collaborate to accelerate: peer-to-peer workshop to improve the delivery against corporate climate goals

Collaborate with GBTA Foundation and your peers in this interactive, thought-provoking session on how to accelerate change towards a more sustainable future for business travel. Attendees will walk away with the momentum to make actionable changes in their programs and companies, while also helping to shape GBTA Foundation’s strategy in the years to come.

Keynote Address: Building a Resilient Tomorrow: Turning risks Into Opportunities For Business Travel

Monica Araya, Senior Director of the European Climate Foundation

Join Monica Araya, Senior Director of the European Climate Foundation as she lays out the roadmap towards electrification in Europe and beyond. She’ll discuss the role all cities, governments, and business travellers can play to secure a zero-emissions future for transport.

Closing remarks