How AI can prepare travel and tourism’s workforce for the green transition

Much of the public debate about artificial intelligence's impact on industries focuses on potential disruptions and job losses. What doesn’t grab as many headlines is the potential for AI to catalyze a skills revolution that could help address one of the world’s most pressing challenges — preparing for the green transition.

Preparing workforces for the green transition weighs heavily on the minds of many business leaders around the world. A "Green Skills Outlook" report published earlier this year showed that while the majority of business leaders understand the need to equip their staff with green skills, just over half of them have put plans in place to do so.

This is where generative AI could come in. One of the biggest issues that employees face in trying to be more sustainable is that they simply don’t know where to start. Much of the jargon is incomprehensible, and the scale of the challenge can seem very intimidating. However, by training a large language model (LLM) on sustainability best practices, it’s now possible to create a tool that employees can use to ask questions about sustainability – and receive guidance that they can easily understand and act on.

AI tools can also be leveraged to develop training modules that are tailored to the level of skills and understanding of individual employees. By incorporating “gamification,” they can incentivize employees to continue learning and progressing.

The potential impact is huge. Microsoft recently estimated that integrating AI into sustainability management and operations could yield $5.2 trillion for the global economy by 2030 and create 38.2 million new jobs. The travel and tourism sector should embrace this opportunity with open arms, particularly given looming legislative and regulatory pressures.

AI can help businesses meet legislative and regulatory requirements

As countries around the world seek to meet ambitious net-zero targets, new regulations are coming into play. For example, the European Union’s "Greenwashing Directive" puts strict curbs on how businesses can talk about their environmental impact, while the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) creates more stringent requirements for how companies report on their environmental and social impact. The United Kingdom is following a similar track, and the two jurisdictions together will create ripple effects around the world for all businesses with a European footprint.

While many businesses are understandably nervous about the coming changes, AI tools can help ease the transition. At Weeva, we’ve been exploring how AI can be used to make sustainability reporting easier. This includes integrating data from diverse sources, preparing digestible reports, setting reminders for target-setting, and analyzing and comparing large data sets. This can not only make it easier for companies to meet regulatory requirements and pursue certifications, but also to drive continuous improvement across their entire organizations.

Investing in AI-enabled green skills can pay dividends 

Businesses that invest in boosting their employees’ green skills can also differentiate themselves from their competitors in the race for talent. A recent study showed that 87% of professionals in the hospitality industry want to educate themselves about sustainability, but only 27% believe that their employer is willing to act on this.

By implementing AI-enabled solutions, businesses can help quickly upskill and augment their existing workforce — not to mention attract new talent into the business. Employees are attracted to businesses that can offer them the step up that they want in their professional development, especially when faced with the shift to sustainability and ESG, as well as wanting to be part of an organization that truly cares about its impact on the planet. Companies that don’t invest in building critical sustainability skills now run the risk of depleting themselves of talent — and running afoul of reporting requirements.

AI can create sustainable behavior change

Sustainability management and reporting are still nascent. In order for the green transition to be a success, businesses need to create an environment where becoming more sustainable is the responsibility of every employee.

By applying AI technology, it’s now much easier for employees to build skills for the future, and for businesses to transparently track and report the impact of their efforts — encouraging behavior change from within.

Those who invest in both the technology and culture changes required to become truly sustainable will set themselves up for success in the green transition. Those that don't will increasingly be left behind.

*Note: On Tuesday, March 5 at ITB, Weeva announced Weeva AI, a generative artificial intelligence tool that can answer sustainability-related questions, guide users through Weeva’s framework and provide data insights.