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ASSOCIATION NEWS  July 2006
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ACTE’s Gurley Reviews Program To Widen Industry’s View Of CSR
The Association of Corporate Travel Executive’s educational outreach on issues involving corporate social responsibility is proceeding, albeit slowly, reports Susan Gurley, the organization’s director. Noting that ACTE’s main mission is communication and education, and therefore its role is to “define the problems and illustrate how other companies have responded,” she acknowledges that some members are uncomfortable with what amounts to a public discussion, particularly when it comes to the issue of trafficking in women and children.
ACTE first announced its CSR initiative in 2005 at its spring meeting in Vancouver. At that time, the focus was on environmentalism and soon thereafter the Association’s CSR Advisory Committee began working on the terminology for “green” hotel RFPs. This May, at the global conference in Atlanta, a focus on trafficking was added. Gurley describes the current state of the program in the following Q&A.
Q: What was the motivation for the shift in focus from environmentalism to trafficking of women and children?
Gurley: It is not so much of a shift in focus as it is the next step in a logical progression. The key word in the phrase “corporate social responsibility” is “social,” referring to people. As the CSR concept matures and is accepted as a long-term business philosophy, I believe the global corporate community will rush to embrace a “people-oriented” aspect of this idea as strongly as many are now subscribing to its environmental appeal. ACTE’s commitment is to education. Just as the Association was slightly ahead of the industry in introducing CSR as an initiative, we are continuing along the curve by offering our members — and the industry — a broader perspective of CSR applications.
Q: Is there a major link to the trafficking of children and women to business travel?
Gurley: I have no information that suggests that the business travel industry has a major link — or any link — to supporting the trafficking of children or women. But I do know that the business travel management industry can play a much bigger role in generating awareness of this problem, and in advocating potential solutions. Exploring the trafficking question can easily become a parallel function of the CSR Advisory Committee. Every aspect of CSR must eventually be studied, analyzed and considered.
Q: How many members are embracing the trafficking issue? How many have expressed out-and-out dissatisfaction of the concept?
Gurley: ACTE members who have responded favorably to the trafficking aspect of the CSR concept have outnumbered the dissenters by more than 4 to 1. These figures are based on evaluations offered by members following the May conference, subsequent calls, and e-mails received by myself, other ACTE officers and staff. Supporters have generally stated they’re glad we’re dealing with this issue, as well as the environmental aspect, of corporate social responsibility. Those in dissent seem to be under the impression that ACTE is changing its basic direction, but this is emphatically not the case. The trafficking issue is merely a parallel consideration of the CSR advisory committee, and another option we’re looking to make available to our members.
Q: What is the status of the trafficking issue now? Has ACTE signed the End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking in Children (ECPAT) treaty?
Gurley: We are presently working on language to add to requests for proposal to heighten industry awareness of the trafficking issue, and have reached out to ECPAT and other groups for assistance in developing the terminology.
Bear in mind that the CSR issue has barely been before the industry a year, and it’s been less than a month since we announced this CSR focus at the Atlanta Conference. There are some unique challenges that have surfaced in dealing with the trafficking issue. As far as signing the ECPAT Treaty goes, we are still exploring the full ramifications and extent of the program. This aspect of CSR is going to be an ongoing development.
Q: What are some of the challenges?
Gurley: Some reticence has been encountered on the part of firms that do not want interest in the trafficking issue to be construed as admission of a potential problem with either travelers doing anything illegal nor with implication that this problem is indigenous to a particular part of the world. Trafficking is a global problem that occurs in every industrialized nation. By the same token, we have also discovered that there are many corporations that are not going public with their environmental CSR plans, either.
Q: What action is ACTE recommending in the trafficking issue?
Gurley: Our position is strictly limited to industry awareness as far as environmental and trafficking issues are concerned. ACTE’s primary function is communication and education. It is our intention to define the problems and illustrate how other companies have responded. ACTE members, such as the Carlson companies and others, have taken very public stances on this issue. We’re following up the Atlanta Conference with a special trafficking presentation from the MTV Foundation at our Asia-Pacific Regional Education Conference in Singapore, 23-24 August 2006, and again at our Global Education Conference in Barcelona, 22-24 October 2006.
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CAoBT Unveils Calgary Office For May 31 Education Day
The Canadian Alliance of Business Travel hosted a Management and Purchasing Education Day in the Calgary Chamber of Commerce on May 31. Following the informative and interesting presentations, Tanya Racz, president of CAoBT, gave a tour of their new office, and hosted a grand opening reception in the Chop House.
The day’s events included the appearance of two candidates for the National Business Travel Association’s Board of Directors: Kari Kessler, global manager of meeting solutions at Honeywell International; and Shelly Lewchuk, travel manager with Canadian Natural Resources.
Kessler was one of the day’s presenters, speaking on strategic meetings management. One size does not fit all when it comes to meetings, she told her audience. Among the things planners must know about their own corporate operations: from the onset, know the budget, so you negotiate for the most value; know the payment process; and know what data reporting will be required.
Not herself a presenter, Lewchuk took special note of the talk on pandemic preparedness by Devin McNaughton, critical infrastructure protection analyst for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC). The session “provided me with reliable information and valuable resources I can use to refine my corporation’s avian flu travel policies,” she said. “The presentation was helpful in educating the participants on the coordinated efforts being undertaken within North America to address this important global issue.”
Another presentation on travel safety, this time by Renee Fairweather, interim director of communications at the Canadian Air Transport Authority (CATSA), divulged several interesting statistics, including:
• The average screening time at Canadian airports in 2005 was 2.9 seconds per passenger.
• Screeners have 20 seconds to determine if a bag is a potential threat.
• Last year’s average was one complaint per 75,000 passengers.
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CPC Members Ready For Role At NBTA Int’l Convention
The Chapter Presidents Council has a very active role in this month’s NBTA convention and trade show, according to CPC President Kelly Henry-Luedtke. Ten chapter members have been chosen to receive the Council’s Business Travel Professional Service Award; 12 more will be awarded a variety of scholarships to subsidize participation in CCTE certification, the Global Leadership Program, NBTA membership and convention registration.
In addition, members of the Council are assisting with details of the convention itself, including the Chapter Chat event and the CPC booth on the convention trade show floor. Chairman of the convention committee is Guy Parker of the Midwest BTA; committee members are Rick Lackland of Georgia BTA, Kari Schroeder of Mid Central BTA, Pat Cooper of Mid-America BTA, Dianne Hillemeyer of Alaska BTA and Amy Marek of Mid South BTA.
The awards committee is headed by Joann Ladesic of the Pittsburgh BTA. Members include Mindy Ryals of Tennessee BTA, Flodine Lee of Oregon BTA, Pam Boies of North Carolina BTA and Terry Rockell of New York State BTA. The scholarship committee is co-chaired by Sharon Pierce of the Philadelphia BTA and Barb Dillon of Utah BTA. Its members are Jules Davis of New York City BTA, Bula Stafford of South Carolina BTA, Lorraine Leavitt of New England BTA, Chris Magulski of Wisconsin BTA and Mike White of Virginia BTA.
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My Mentor
“Mentorship is priceless not only for the person receiving it, but for those giving it,” says Barbara Henderson, manager of corporate travel operations of Kennametal in Latrobe, Penn.
For Henderson, mentoring has involved both her personal and her professional life: “My father died when I was 11 years old and from that time on to the present, my mentor has been Bob Clark, the husband of my oldest sister, Janet. He taught me to believe in myself and often advised me that I could achieve anything I wanted in life with the values my mother had taught me. Those values were integrity, honesty and respect for others. To this day I am very close to him and often consult him.
“I have also had the privilege of being a mentor to my daughter Colleen, a very successful manager for DuPont,” she continues, “and also to Jolleen Sparber, a young travel manager who belonged to the Pittsburgh BTA.”
As with Henderson and many others who shared their experiences for this special report, the guidance received from these trusted advisors has often been applicable to both personal and professional lives. “Personally I had a family member being the best mentor you can imagine,” says Alexander Rahe, a member of the N. Virginia BTA. “He prepared me early to move along the corporate ladder and, based on his senior executive experience, that was key for my success. Even if one believes he knows all about the business world, to hear it, listen and discuss details has been the greatest benefit to me.”
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