This news could not have been more timely, at least on a personal level for me: Advito launches corporate social responsibility service portfolio. Though Spring finally seems to have arrived here in Boston, and indeed, the week-old leaves and flower blossoms on the trees appear to be holding off any last-minute attempt for more winter weather, I still find myself yearning for a trip to a nice sandy beach in the Caribbean.

Advito, it seems, feels that there is a market for corporate travel programs with a focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR). While I think that is great (a wonderful initiative to push, and a potentially fantastic business idea…) I am not so certain that the majority of clients will think twice about whether their travel is CSR-friendly or not. That said, perhaps that dynamic exists because there isn’t greater clarity about the impact of travel on CSR-related concerns.

My feelings aside, Advito, naturally, feels that, “Interest in CSR and corporate travel is growing steadily.” Whether that interest is as strong as Advito implies, the increased interest is positive. Similarly, the reasons the company cites for pushing a CSR-friendly travel agenda are strong:

“‘Contrary to popular belief, taking CSR into account does not mean adding more cost to your programme,’ said Victor van Tol, Advito’s vice president – EMEA. ‘On the contrary, by avoiding governmental fines and making smart travel decisions based on business criticality and preferred supplier usage, you can realise significant cost reductions while meeting your environmental and social responsibilities.’”

As an aside, here’s a hat-tip to you, Mr. Jack Yan — I loved your recent post about Kevin Roberts and found myself struggling with “program,” “programme,”  or “prahgram” (the latter is my best attempt at Boston-English).

TAGS: CSR | travel | ethical | social responsibility

This entry was posted on Friday, May 4th, 2007 at 10:17 am and is filed under Business Strategy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Socially Responsible Investing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.