Susan Austin

Global Practice Line Lead for Sustainability American Express Global Business Travel

In her nine years at American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT), Susan has worked on key Fortune 100 accounts both with Global Business Consulting and as a global client manager. Currently, she is the global practice line lead for sustainability, helping clients identify their carbon footprint and deliver positive change that supports decarbonization and purposeful travel. She is responsible for the delivery and expansion of Green Compass, a suite of solutions designed to guide clients through their sustainability journey, whether they’re just starting out or in a more advanced phase. She delivers insightful analysis tailored to specific stakeholders, helping clients achieve a balance between carbon savings, cost and traveler experience that matches the needs and culture of their company. She earned her Master of Business Administration and has continued with certifications in change management and leadership for sustainable corporations. . Susan frequently speaks at travel industry events, including sessions with Arizona Sustainability Alliance, the Texas BTA, Business Travel News, and Climate Week NYC

Day 1: Monday, June 3, 2024

10:30 AM Partner Keynote: Elevating Your Business Travel Strategy – Implementing Internal Carbon Pricing

Carbon pricing – definition - carbon pricing refers to initiatives that put an explicit price on GHG emission (World Bank) – may be a government program (like ETS) or may be an internal pricing mechanism for corporates

Why can a carbon pricing be important to a travel / procurement director

Common practice across companies: “nearly half of world’s 500 biggest companies by market cap” either put a price on carbon or plan to do so in next five years” (source CDP) – having a program like this prepares a travel program to support enterprise activity
Educates travelers about impact of their trip and expresses travel program’s commitment to ensure that travel powers progress
Allows travel program decision makers (commodity owners) to assess a total cost of trip with air fares, quality of service, and emissions impact for air sourcing and program management
Quantifies opportunities a strategic travel program can collaborate with enterprise sustainability teams
Can be implemented two ways

A real carbon price can create a centralized budget for other initiatives – SAF, carbon compensation – low-carbon investments and changing behaviors
A shadow carbon price allows a travel manager / enterprise teams analyze and plan for additional activity

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Susan.

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