On behalf of the National Business Travel Network, an advanced analysis to segment the FTSE 350 companies was undertaken. The segmentation evaluated several characteristics of each company, and organised each according to their present and future commitment to sustainable travel.
The National Business Travel Network sought to increase the number of organisations affiliated with the NBTN, with 10% of the FTSE 350 to produce workplace travel plans. In order to establish with companies had the greatest chance of a successful travel plan, the CTP were approached to segment the 350 companies for their likelihood to join the NBTN.
A rigorous literature review was undertaken that identified the key characteristics of companies that were sustainable and dynamic in their actions for environmentally friendly behaviours. The review identified 10 predictors that were closely linked to sustainable activity, including Carbon Disclosure, Innovation profile and the gender/age of the CEO.
Dr Ian Walker used these aspects of each company in his analysis using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) data analysis device. The process uses the figures to extract rules and correlations from large datasets, learning new patterns with each run of the calculation. The ANN divided the 350 companies according to the characteristics linked to sustainable company behaviours, and highlighted the most likely candidates for successful travel plan implementation.
