Project Goals
After an initial focus on CO2 emissions, the project will start to look at other areas of CSR, such as other greenhouse gas emissions, noise pollution, duty of care , traveller wellbeing and sustainable procurement practices in due course.
The project group has set about creating a plan of action to firstly inform buyers and suppliers of our environmental situation and the action they could take, and secondly to provide practical guidance and assistance for travel buyers to start on the environmental road.
The intention of ICARUS in the first instance is to drive the UK travel industry to reduce carbon emissions in line with UK Government targets through the Carbon Reduction System.
The Project ICARUS Carbon Reduction System
The initial ICARUS Carbon Reduction System comprises of the following:
- A Toolkit for buyers to use to implement a Carbon Reduction System
- A system of accreditation to recognise buyers who implement the toolkit and have success in reducing carbon emissions
- A system of awards to recognise suppliers who demonstrate leadership and innovation in making their products more environmentally friendly
The project has also produced toolkit on Duty of Care and we look forward to providing updates on other areas of the project's development in due course.
Make the commitment
ITM urges you, as a travel buyer, to sign up to the principles of ICARUS - to demonstrate to the supplier community that you are going to act! Organisations which buy travel can make a public statement of commitment to reduce emissions from their business travel programmes and to gaining ICARUS accreditation. To qualify for the commitment level just send an e-mail with the following statement to ITM's Chief Executive at paul.tilstone@itm.org.uk
"We are committed to the long term reduction of absolute business travel emissions from our organisational activity and to seeking Project ICARUS accreditation"
Add your organisation's name to the growing list of companies who support the environmental goals of the project through the following statement:
Companies who have publicly stated their support for the project to date include...
The BBC, Carillion, Barclays, Inmarsat, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, SAS UK & Ireland, HMRC, DEFRA, BP and Accenture.
