Beyond the Green Trip: Building Inclusive and Equitable Travel Programmes for Enhanced Duty of Care

Environmental sustainability, carbon tracking, net-zero goals: All are crucial in modern corporate travel programmes. This is evidenced by a 2024 research pole from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) in which 46% of travel professionals said sustainability was a high priority, while 44% had already integrated sustainability into their travel programmes. 

However, there is currently a shift in focus.

The shift is from the Environmental element of ESG to the Social element. This means that all travel programmes must be built on equity, inclusivity, and customisation. This requires a personalised approach to duty of care, so every employee’s safety and well-being is assured. 

Let’s take a closer look at this social approach to corporate travel.

Human-Centric Business Travel Programmes

Many people aren’t aware of the link between inclusive corporate travel policies and employee retention. The 2022 survey revealed that, as far as business travel priorities are concerned, engaging and retaining employees ranked third. This was up from 6th place in 2021.

Blend personalisation with employee satisfaction, health, safety, and well-being, and you get travel programmes designed to address different risk profiles across diverse workforces. This includes:

• Resource development. Large and small businesses have started developing resources that support the inclusion of LGBTQ+ travel programmes.
• Research and planning. Conduct research into safe locations for vulnerable segments of the population, including women travelling alone. Resources include articles from industry experts that look at things like the safest and most dangerous cities for LGBTQ+ business travellers (and women travelling alone). 
• Social impact. We’ve mentioned the importance of supply chain and environmental sustainability, but what does that mean for corporate travel agencies? It means they need to consider things like ethical brand practices. For example, is the airline or the aeroplane manufacturer linked to unethical labour practices, like child slavery? Is the hotel chain known for its commitment to fighting homelessness?

This really hammers home the importance of equity and inclusivity in travel programmes. Companies that want to remain competitive (and relevant) must adapt their travel policies accordingly.  

Travel Policies With Care & Safety in Mind

If you want to hit the nail on the head, you must recognise that risk is subjective. We touched on this in Research & Planning. Basically, what’s safe for a contingent of men might not be safe for a woman alone. This emphasises the personalisation aspect of corporate travel because the aim is to anticipate and mitigate specific threats. 

Here are a few examples that show what we mean.

• Safety considerations for lone female travellers. This includes choosing hotels that specifically state they have risk management measures in place to ensure the safety of female travellers. You can include maintaining a list of high-risk destinations under this section of your travel policy.
• Flexibility is a critical component of care. Business travel is expected to increase over the coming years, and while this can be great for company growth, it can play havoc with frequent travellers’ well-being. It’s not unusual for frequent travellers to feel exhausted and stressed. You can counter this by providing pops of comfort, like access to airport lounges, a comfortable airport shuttle, or a designated driver at their destination. 

While the above might take some effort and even come at some expense, you simply can’t put a price on employee health and safety.

Data Drives Insightful Travel Programmes

You can’t embrace personalisation if you don’t have the right data to inform your decisions and policies. The best way to obtain relevant data is to use analytics tools. As it turns out, according to GBTA’s poll, 52% of travel managers already spend more on data analysis and reporting than two to three years ago. 

Information generated includes insight into key trends and patterns. Other powerful metrics include:

• Well-being insights. This includes tracking and analysing traveller behaviour to create travel programmes based on individual likes and dislikes. This is a great way to reduce travel-related stress and improve comfort and satisfaction. 
• Burnout metrics. Tracking systems include metrics for travel frequency, total nights away, and the number and frequency of time zones crossed. 
• Targeted intervention. By using the metrics mentioned above, you can identify tired employees who frequently suffer from jet lag and whose motivation is potentially plummeting. 

This information is invaluable when it comes to developing and adjusting travel policies, including little perks like a chauffeur-driven car after a long-haul flight. This forms the basis of your duty of care and transforms generic travel policies into genuine, data-driven personalised support. 

Wrapping it Up

We live in an increasingly conscious world where access to global information can influence individual behaviour. This phenomenon spills over into corporate travel, where travel managers or agencies must add social impact to environmental sustainability when developing programmes and policies. They must consider everything from equality (regardless of background or personal risk profile) to ethical business practices.

It’s worth it, though, because this unified (data-driven) approach can actually give you a competitive advantage, especially when it comes to attracting talent, driving retention, ensuring employees’ safety, and enhancing productivity.

Posted on 6 February 2026 by VMR Travel