Toronto, Canada – Sustainability has moved to the front of the agenda for economies, companies and the world at large. It is also a priority for the business travel industry, as revealed in new research from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) where almost 9 in 10 industry respondents say sustainability is already a priority for their company.

The topic of creating a greener future for business travel took center stage for the first time at the GBTA Canada Conference in Toronto, May 2-3, where nearly 600 Canadian leaders, professionals and other stakeholders gathered from a cross-section of the travel industry including airlines, hotel companies and corporate travel agency leaders.

The GBTA Canada event features expert discussions and research including the newly released GBTA study, "The State of Sustainability in the Global Business Travel Sector,” presented by Delphine Millot, Senior Vice President, Sustainability, for GBTA. The 21-page benchmarking study provides in-depth data and commentary from both global business travel buyers and travel suppliers as well as external policy makers, think tanks and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to reveal top priorities and opportunities for the business travel industry.

GBTA Canada also announced today a new partnership with the Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (C-SAF).

“GBTA is focused on sustainability across its global regions and including here in Canada. One of our goals is to help raise awareness across our industry and help guide actionable and achievable outcomes. Our partnership with C-SAF will help accelerate the journey toward a more sustainable future for the business travel industry in Canada,” said Nancy Tudorache, Regional Vice President, Canada for GBTA.

GBTA and C-SAF will work together along with their partners, the industry at large, and government to raise awareness, show support, and take action toward increasing sustainable initiatives in the travel industry to help Canada accomplish its goal of being net zero by 2050.

“Air travel is important for Canada, but we need to find ways of flying more sustainably and SAF is a solution that can be deployed now for aviation to accelerate its transition to net-zero. Given very little SAF is being made in Canada today, C-SAF will bring together industry and government to put in place the winning conditions to build a SAF market in Canada. Through our partnership with GBTA Canada, together we’ll be able to do even more to help sustainable travel overall in Canada and including the business travel sector,” said Geoff Tauvette, Executive Director, C-SAF.

C-SAF is a federal not-for-profit company launched in February 2022. It currently has about 100 members representing the key stakeholders from a the SAF value chain. This includes 60 airlines flying in and out of Canada (domestic, international, cargo, charters) and 40 SAF stakeholders including suppliers, airports, OEMs, SAF innovators and academia.

About the C-SAF

The Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (C-SAF) is a not-for-profit organization that aims to accelerate the commercial production and deployment of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in Canada by catalyzing the ecosystem and value chains, promoting public policy, strategies and a roadmap, acting as a neutral and balanced technical expert, and serving as the voice of its members to government and non-government stakeholders on SAF issues.

C-SAF was created by a consortium of 60 domestic, international and cargo airlines operating in Canada who own and operate aviation fuel storage and distribution facilities at 11 major airports across Canada. C-SAF is comprised of 100 members who represent key industry leaders that are committed to advancing SAF production and use in Canada. www.c-saf.ca

About the Global Business Travel Association

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world's premier business travel and meetings trade organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with operations on six continents. GBTA's members manage more than $345 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA delivers world-class education, events, research, advocacy, and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts.

About the GBTA Foundation

The mission of the GBTA Foundation, the US 501c3 charitable arm of GBTA, is to help the global business travel industry create a positive impact and a better future for people and the planet. The GBTA Foundation focuses on the strategy and execution of GBTA's global sustainability programs, supporting initiatives related to climate action; diversity, equity and inclusion; and other talent-related topics via education, research and advocacy.

Debbie Iannaci
GBTA Global Communications, PR & Research
+1 305 301 7057
GBTA