It’s commonly known that the travel industry has had a negative impact on the climate crisis because of the significant amount of carbon produced by transportation, but especially by the aviation industry; in fact, “A 2018 study revealed that tourism and travel contributed 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions from 2009 to 2013.”
Many aviation organizations – such as IATA – have already started implementing plans and procedures to Fly Net Zero by 2050, which “brings air transport in line with the objectives of the Paris agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C.” IATA hopes to accomplish their Fly Net Zero pledge by the use of sustainable aviation fuel, implementing new technology – electric and hydrogen, improving infrastructure and operational efficiencies, and carbon offset and capture. As 2.5% of global CO2 emissions are caused by the aviation industry, this is an important step forward for the entire travel industry and the whole planet. Other types of sustainability initiatives are being digitized to cut back on paper waste and eliminating our natural resources, including former hard copy based documents, such as flight manuals, customer tickets, etc.
But simply focusing on aviation isn’t sufficient to help the planet avoid heating up to an unsustainable level in the very near future; other parts of the travel industry must also step up and do their part to reduce carbon emissions and, as a result, offset the carbon footprint that is inherent to every aspect of the travel industry.
In the past 5 to 10 years, hotels have also begun offering more sustainable operational practices, such as decreasing the standard regularity of housekeeping/making it optional (i.e., offering patrons to reuse their towels and opt-out of daily cleaning, to diminish water usage and waste); implementing digital services and processes, such as digital keys, self check-in solutions, etc.; implementing operational travel technology to digitize other aspects of their operation (i.e., facilitating reservations via online booking); among other initiatives. In general – especially with younger generations – these initiatives are highly popular and give the properties who choose to go “green” a distinct vantage over properties who aren’t prioritizing environmental responsibility.
One travel-related industry that hasn’t had as much success in transitioning their operations to be more environmentally friendly is the corporate travel industry; as the industry is completely based upon the need to meet, in person, with potential sales prospects or business partners – obviously, incurring a larger carbon footprint in the process. While the pandemic did introduce digital ways for people to hold meetings, they don’t even come close to the efficacy and relationship building potential of in-person meetings – meaning that corporate event planners need to find every opportunity to be more environmentally responsible as possible to help offset their impact on the industry’s carbon footprint.
Enter Vindow… the only cloud-based, SaaS platform that combines a centralized, full lifecycle management of the procurement process, from RFP generation through contract management. Through our online RFP management and contracting functionality, Vindow is facilitating greener transactions by eliminating hard copies, helping to protect our natural resources. Keeping all current and past RFPs and contracts online helps both planners and hotels offset the carbon footprint that is inherent to their work in the travel industry.
Especially as the world becomes more globalized and travel becoming more accessible than ever before, the time to act to save the planet is NOW; it is our top responsibility to find the best business practices that will lead our industry into a more sustainable future. Emerging technologies (like Vindow!) help travel-related companies become more effective, go ‘green,” decrease waste and cut costs, while lessening the carbon footprint of the overall travel industry, due to the deployment of AI and Big Data.
Let’s all do our part to help to save our natural resources and save the planet!
To learn more about Vindow and how we can help your company lessen your carbon footprint by eliminating your hard-copy RFPs, visit www.vindow.com.