Travelport gives more biz travel emissions tool details
Travelport is targeting corporations and travel management companies with its new tool that will help travellers analyse how much carbon dioxide they are pumping into the atmosphere.
The Carbon Tracker measures the carbon footprint of a travel itinerary and compares the emissions of rail, car and air routes.
A full page advertisement in the Financial Times on Monday entitled “making CO2 our no.1 responsibility†touted the travel technology firm’s commitment to the product.
“TMCs will tell you now that every big corporation they do a RFP (request for purchase) for there is a CO2 element to it. Every annual report of any major corporation will also have details on what they are doing to the environment,” explained Gordon Wilson, CEO of Travelport GDS. “So this tool will allow them to refine their travel policy.”
The tool was launched in Dubai at the World Travel & Tourism Council’s annual summit by the firm’s top executives (see previous TravelMole story).
The web-based data report is being offered to the market for a fee of between 10 and 50 US cents per report and has been developed in conjunction with Agresso – a Dutch information reporting company.
“I am not aware of any GDS that is doing anything quite like this and certainly not to this level of sophistication,†said Wilson. “We’ve teamed up with The Carbon Consultancy who has worked out the fuel burn based on aircraft type, engine type and average load factors.”
The tracker is designed for use across multiple GDS including Amadeus and Sabre and is being touted for the corporate market with a view to focusing on the leisure traveller in the near future.
Carbon Tracker does not deal with carbon offsetting, which Travelport has been keen to stay away from due to the myriad of services already offered in this arena.
Travelport hope that people will make a more informed choice about the airline they fly, the routes they travel or the mode of transport they take, based on its impact on the environment.
“It is relatively intuitive with pre-designed reports,†said Wilson. “We’ve gone with the highest UK reporting standards and we’ve also got a lot of data in the system.”
by:Nick Easen
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