Is AI the solution to more sustainable business travel?

Jonathan Carter Chapman

Marketing Director, Business Travel Show Europe

AI is set to take the lion’s share of investment in the coming months – will sustainable business travel be one of the beneficiaries?

Corporate leaders face competing challenges of shifting geopolitical landscapes and global trade opportunities, meeting sustainability goals and keeping pace with AI. The question facing many is therefore, is there are a way to achieve all of these and can advances in AI support more sustainable corporate travel and business growth?

A roadmap for more carbon efficient travel

Certainly, one of the key benefits of AI is the capacity to optimise itineraries for minimal environmental impact. Machine learning algorithms can now analyse vast datasets to recommend the most carbon-efficient transportation modes, routes, and accommodation options based on real-time conditions.

Coupled with a growing number of corporate travel platforms which now have integrated AI features to highlight lower-emission alternatives and quantify the carbon savings of different choices, business travellers are now empowered to make environmentally conscious decisions more than ever before.

A gold star for sustainable effort

Beyond itinerary planning, AI is also making its presence felt as a powerful tool for influencing behavioural change. Smart systems can provide personalised feedback to business travellers, encouraging them towards more sustainable choices through gamification or comparative reporting. Hand in hand with this, AI compliance monitors are also being applied to help ensure sustainability policies are followed for the entirety of a trip.

AI solutions do face challenges
including data privacy concerns
and barriers to adoption.

Crunch the sustainable numbers

Perhaps AI’s most significant contribution now lies in its ability to transform sustainability measurement to track, analyse, and report travel-related emissions with unprecedented accuracy, benchmarking against reduction targets to demonstrate progress to clients and investors.

Are we nearly there yet?

That said, AI solutions do face challenges including data privacy concerns and barriers to adoption. The EU AI Act, implemented to address the risks of AI, came into effect in August last year and it is expected similar legislation in the UK will be announced before too long – one that business owners would be forewarned and forearmed to take notice of. Indeed, a recent survey from Business Travel Show Europe highlighted that whilst over half (56%) of corporate travellers see AI playing a role in tracking and reducing carbon footprints in corporate travel, nearly two thirds (63%) would trust AI-generated recommendations but with caution due to the limitation they believe they have. Just when that sense of caution will be abandoned remains to be seen.