Pauline Houston will lead GBTA's WINiT EMEA chapter as chair
The Global Business Travel Association has appointed SilverDoor’s senior vice president of business development, Pauline Houston, as chairperson of its newly formed GBTA WINiT EMEA chapter.
The new EMEA chapter will follow the broader ethos of GBTA’s non-profit WINiT organisation, which focuses on developing initiatives to support inclusion and gender equity in the business travel sector as well as “help all women within the industry thrive at every career stage”.
As chair, UK-based Houston will be responsible for governing and delivering the strategic vision and objectives of WINiT across the region. She will work alongside Catherine Logan, GBTA’s regional senior vice president, EMEA and APAC, as well as with the association’s network partners throughout the region.
Commenting on her appointment, Houston said: “I have been a long-standing admirer of the work of the GBTA WINiT programme and the valuable role it plays within the industry to advocate and guide positive change for so many of the people that work within it. As an industry body it has a responsibility as we all do, to continue to inform and deliver opportunities for all.
“Supporting the thousands of women who work within the industry is something I am incredibly passionate about and I look forward to working with the WINiT Strategic Advisory Board to delivering those opportunities and valuable support to our colleagues and partners across EMEA,” she added.
GBTA launches Sustainable Procurement Standards
The association’s charitable arm, GBTA Foundation, this week also launched a sustainable procurement guide to help corporate travel managers “make informed procurement decisions” around sustainable travel practices.
The GBTA Sustainable Procurement Standards is a free resource featuring a set of questions that assess the sustainability practices of vendors and suppliers, along with an ‘educational guide’ that describes vertical-specific topics travel buyers should take into account when assessing suppliers on their sustainability performance.
The first edition is focused on the aviation sector, with additional standards for hotels and ground transportation set to be released “in the coming months”. Standards for meetings and events will also be rolled out in 2025, according to GBTA.
"The new standards offer a practical solution for buyers to support their procurement efforts and streamlines the process for suppliers, ultimately fostering a more responsible travel ecosystem," said Delphine Millot, managing director of the GBTA Foundation and senior vice president for sustainability and advocacy at GBTA.