GBTA Announces 2015 Sustainability Award Winners

Patrick Clarke
by Patrick Clarke
Last updated: 12:11 PM ET, Wed May 13, 2015

Enterprise Holdings and Barclays PLC North America were both honored this week for delivering elite sustainability programs, products, and services across North America in 2015.

On Monday, the Global Business Travel Association's education and research branch, the GBTA Foundation, teamed with its sustainability and social responsibility initiative Project ICARUS to announce the third annual Sustainability Outstanding Achievement Award winners.

The Awards are given to recognize the North American travel buyers, suppliers and intermediaries whose sustainability efforts stand out from the rest.

Enterprise won the travel supplier category for a variety of reasons, including its 20/20 vision program, an initiative launched in 2010 aimed at reducing electricity, natural gas and water consumption across its Alamo, Enterprise and National car rental brands. The company is also being lauded for the renewal of its carbon-friendly fleet which features hybrid and electric vehicles, and environmentally friendly programs like rideshare.

The company's investment of more than $35 million in renewables research helped to put it over the top.

"Providing long-term benefits and seamless transportation solutions to our customers, partners and communities is the hallmark of Enterprise's approach to sustainability," said Enterprise Holdings vice president of corporate business development Brad Carr in a statement.

Meanwhile, Barclays PLC was recognized as the top travel buyer after submitting a comprehensive application detailing CO2 metrics, targets and reductions, among other processes and programs.

Barclays' approach to supply chain management was also a highlight of its application.

"For the majority of consumers, 'value' is not simply a question of price: quality, provenance and brand identity are important factors influencing purchasing decisions," states Barclays on its corporate website. "The decisions that retailers make with regards to their supply chains, cannot therefore be simply based on price and must consider the more complex issue of building the right supplier partnerships to deliver sustainable consumer value and competitive advantage."

"The quality of entries for our third annual awards in North America exceeded our expectations, clearly reflecting the level of importance companies place on building sustainability into business travel and meetings programs," said Project ICARUS head of sustainability Bernard Harrop in a statement. "All the entries received were worthy of an award giving the judging panel a tough task in selecting the winners and demonstrating the strides made industry-wide in sustainability."

Both Enterprise Holdings and Barclays PLC North America received their awards at the GBTA Foundation Gala Dinner on Monday night in New York.


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Patrick Clarke

Patrick Clarke

Senior Editor

A Maryland native and wanderer who has lived across the U.S. from North Carolina to SoCal, Patrick Clarke graduated from Towson University with a B.S. in journalism. He previously worked for Bleacher

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