The GBTA Foundation and Project ICARUS named the winners of the 2nd Annual Sustainability Outstanding Achievement Awards

Awards Honor Outstanding Achievements in Furthering Business Travel and Meetings Sustainability Programs

Alexandria, VA, 2014-5-16 — /Travel PR News/ — The GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and Project ICARUS are proud to announce the winners of the 2nd Annual Sustainability Outstanding Achievement Awards.

The awards recognize travel buyers, suppliers and intermediaries who can demonstrate outstanding leadership, innovation and commitment to delivering best in class sustainability programs, products and services across North America.

“The number of entries again exceeded our expectations and clearly reflects the increase in number of companies building sustainability into their business travel and meetings programs,” said Bernard Harrop, head of sustainability Project ICARUS. “All the entries received wereworthyof an award giving the judging panel a tough task in selecting the winners and demonstrating the strides made industry-wide in sustainability.”

The winners are:

Travel Supplier: United Airlines

  • United Airlines demonstrated a strong commitment from senior management, clear environmental/carbon savings metrics, future targets and comprehensive communications.

Travel Intermediary: BCD Travel

  • BCD Travelis recognized for their travel survival guide and ‘smart’ videos which help travelers keep an effective balance between the 3 P’s of sustainability (People, Planet and Profit).

Travel Buyer: Intel

  • Intel showed strong commitment to the environment by developing a company guide to being green that embeds a range of activities into the process of planning and managing a meeting or event and the delivery of a substantial ROI.

Travel Team: Autodesk and The Hertz Corporation

  • Working together, they increased usage of alternative fuel vehicles, increased overall high MPG vehicle utilization, lowered CO2 emissions, increased usage of Hertz 24/7 EVs and reduced fuel costs.

The winners were presented with their ICARUS trophy at the GBTA Foundation Annual Gala Dinner & Silent Auction held yesterday at the Crowne Plaza, Times Square in New York.

For more information visit the Project ICARUS website: gbta.org/foundation/ICARUS/Pages/Awards.aspx or contact Bernard Harrop at bharrop@gbtafoundation.org.

About Project ICARUS
Project ICARUS, a GBTA Foundation initiative, is the most widely recognized and respected Corporate Sustainability/Corporate Social Responsibility program within the global business travel and meeting industry. This is a project led by and targeted primarily at national and international travel buyers/managers and their suppliers/intermediaries, who wish to integrate sustainability into the way they manage, run and supply travel and meetings programs.

About the Global Business Travel Association
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and meetings organization. Collectively, GBTA’s 6,000-plus members manage over $340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA provides its network of 21,000 business and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers, with networking events, news, education & professional development, research, and advocacy. For more information, visit gbta.org

CONTACT:

Colleen Lerro, +1 703-236-1133, clerro@gbta.org
Kellie Gleason, +1 212-446-1869, kgleason@sloanepr.com