Easier to Travel Greener with KTH's New Travel Agency
KTH is switching its travel agency service from Egencia to BIG Travel on 1 April. Employees booking a business trip or adjusting an already booked trip during the spring should be aware of some important dates for the next six months due to the change.
KTH's sustainability goals have been central to the procurement of the new travel agency service.
"Anyone booking a trip should be able to filter the travel options in the travel agency service and thus see how much carbon dioxide each airline emits and be able to choose the most environmentally friendly travel option," Magda Ousi, Travel Manager at KTH, says.
KTH's travel policy will be integrated into the new travel agency service, which will make it easier for the traveler to choose according to the policy and give KTH a better basis for follow-up.
"This means that if someone books a travel option that does not comply with KTH's travel policy, a message will appear in the booking portal that it is outside the policy, and the person will then need to actively justify their choice of means of transport," Ousi says.
"For example, for air tickets, economy class applies, and options outside this class will be marked as a deviation from KTH's travel policy."
BIG Travel will also report to KTH on the carbon dioxide emissions from KTH's travel by air, train, and other means, as required by the government.
Ousi points out that BIG Travel is a full-service travel agency for KTH's individual travelers, affiliates, guests, and small groups of up to nine people in Sweden and abroad.
"With BIG Travel, it will be possible to book travel for larger groups of more than nine people via their group services, BIG Meetings," Ousi says.
KTH has also set security requirements for the new travel agency service.
"As an employer, we are responsible for our employees during business trips, and we need to be able to track our travelers. It is important to be able to locate them quickly, for example in the event of a natural disaster. The security department will have access to a portal for this," Ousi says.
BIG Travel will be accessible via "My Services" in the personalized menu on the KTH website when the user is logged in.
"The HR system will transfer some user information to the traveler profile in BIG Travel, but each traveler will have to complete their profile with, among other things, their mobile phone number when they book a trip for the first time," Ousi says.
Text: Marianne Norén