Advantage has extended its partnership with Thrust Carbon and named it an official sustainability partner, bringing new commercial terms and access to a wider portfolio of resources. These include a series of educational webinars and regulation guides.
Thrust Carbon, with whom Advantage has partnered since 2021, will also provide ongoing support to Advantage’s central environmental, social and governance (ESG) team and its member steering group.
In addition, the consortium will use Thrust Carbon’s tools to more accurately measure and reduce the carbon impact of its own events, starting with its 2024 conference in Cancun (15-18 May).
This started with pre-conference emissions calculations to establish the environmental benefits that could be achieved through "mindful planning", and will continue with further post-conference calculations and analysis to assess where learnings can be applied to other Advantage events.
Advantage said the work will strengthen its conference events charter, launched at its 2023 conference in Benidorm, culminating in a report showcasing its 2024 emissions and setting out its plans to reduce them further in 2025 and beyond.
Julia Lo Bue-Said, Advantage Travel Partnership chief executive, said the broader partnership would "add a further layer" to its efforts to support members in achieving their sustainability goals.
"For members of the Advantage Travel Partnership and partners of the Advantage Global Network, it will mean that they will now have the opportunity to take advantage of sustainable technology for their clients and educational resources for themselves, designed to help them understand and implement practical ways to reduce travel industry carbon emissions," said Lo Bue-Said.
"These resources will include webinars and guides that inform and empower members to take confident, effective steps towards achieving their sustainability goals."
Lo Bue-Said added Advantage wanted to "lead the way" on purposeful events to ensure the consortium was not "playing judge and jury" on the way in which people choose to travel.
Thrust Carbon founder Mark Corbett said the tie-in would help Advantage and its members "future-proof" their businesses and prove once and for all that sustainability and business success are "fundamentally interconnected".
