Why is it important?
In a globalised world where travelling has become an every-day activity and air travel is considered a social norm, aviation has become one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions, currently contributing to 2.4% of global CO2e emissions(1). By 2050, this share could increase to 22%(2). When including non-CO2 effects (mainly formation of persistent contrails and atmospheric reactions driven by NOx emissions), aviation contributed to 4% of the global temperature increase since pre-industrial times.(3) At a sectorial level, professional travel represents 7% of the total carbon footprint of the international aid sector.(4)
Travel, and notably air travel, is often overused, neglecting less carbon-intensive options like trains and ground travel. Therefore, organisations should enforce travel policies that guide employees in making environmentally conscious travel choices. Guiding behaviour through policies is fundamental to ensure staff select options that align with the organisation’s climate goal and travel reduction targets.(5)
What's the solution?
For a long-lasting impact within an organisation, it is important to craft a travel policy that outlines key guidelines to reduce emissions when travelling, that offers employees sustainable travel alternatives, and is integrated into the larger sustainability strategy.(6)
It is fundamental to first establish a comprehensive strategy for reducing air travel whilst defining a travel reduction target. Next, identify and implement measures that support these organisational objectives, with the key goal of the policy being to reduce air travel and promote ground travel. This can be achieved by providing incentives and disincentives, aligning the booking tool, and selecting a travel agency that adheres to the policy. Additionally, it is essential to collect data for progress monitoring and to address potential cost implications to ensure the effectiveness and feasibility of the policy.
Point of attention: Define a travel reduction target
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Point of attention
Defining a travel reduction target: Once the carbon footprint has been calculated and the emissions share of transportation (air and ground travel) is defined, the first step is to set a reduction target and measures for flight-related emissions. This can be a uniform target for the whole organisation or different targets may apply for different groups in the organisation. It will contribute to a clear reduction path on how the organisation plans to reduce travels and transition to less carbon intensive travel practices. Finally, a travel policy to support these objectives is enforced. See the Accelerator’s travel toolkit for further details.
Key actions
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#1 Define measures to reduce air travel
The policy should limit travel to essential trips only, requiring justification and approval through internal processes. If travel is necessary, prioritise ground travel whenever possible. Depending on the context, make train (including night train) or bus travel the norm if the travel time difference is less than 4 hours or within a 1,000km radius. Reimburse additional overnight costs for choosing the most eco-friendly travel option (train, bus, or – for groups of more than 4 people – the car).(10)
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#2 Provide incentives and discentives
Adjust HR practices and incentives (eg. allowing staff to combine professional trips with vacations, and not permitting personal loyalty points from work travel etc.) to support the implementation. Make alternatives to flying appealing by covering 1st class tickets for longer train trips and provide travel discount cards that employees can use privately.
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#3 Align the booking process
To ensure the travel policy is followed, adapt the internal booking process and/or integrate it with the system provided by a travel agency system. Incorporate the approval process within the tool. Work with the travel unit/agency to display ground travel and trains as the top choices and show first the less carbon-intensive flying options – such as economy and direct flights and efficient airlines—last.
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#4 Collect data for progress monitoring
To assess the impact of the policy measures, collect data internally during the booking process. This will help set up a monitoring system to continuously track the institution’s flight emissions. Use a data collection dashboard to gather travel indicators, identify opportunities for reduction, and monitor progress.
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#5 Address potential cost implications
By reducing overall air travel, the organisation will save money on fewer airline tickets, which can then be used to support more responsible travel choices. Booking tickets in advance helps avoid higher last-minute prices; setting a booking deadline, such as one week after mission approval, can mitigate these costs. In Europe, Interrail passes, which may be more cost-effective than standard train tickets, should be explored.
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#6 Train staff & raise awareness
Train staff on the new travel practices and approval process. To further promote the travel policy and responsible travel choices, inform and sensitise staff by providing information and tools (eg. factsheets, guidelines, travel decision tool/tree, best practices etc.)
Point of attention: Change management
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Point of attention
Change management: When revising a travel policy and changing longstanding behaviour, fostering a culture of adaptability, individual responsibility, and trust in leadership is fundamental. Ensure regular communication that allows for open dialogue and reducing resistance to change. Align with core organisational ways of functioning and involve employees in the planning and decision-making process. Maintain effective two-way communication across all management levels and provide training to help employees adjust to new processes.(11)
To consider
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Potential co-benefits
- Financial savings: Reduced costs through optimised travel practices.
- Enhanced image and reputation: Demonstrating environmental responsibility bolsters organisational credibility.
- Equity and inclusion: Improved equity within the organisation by reducing excessive travel practices of certain groups and by promoting hybrid formats that allow broader participation.
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Success conditions
- Leadership commitment: Active support from leadership to prioritise emission reductions in travel.
- Policy enforcement: Clear booking approval processes and strict enforcement by management.
- Staff engagement: Awareness-raising initiatives to encourage employee buy-in and adherence.
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Prerequisites and specificities
- Policy alignment: Integration with HR strategies and existing organisational policies.
- Geographical context: Consideration of factors like political stability and infrastructure suitability for ground travel.
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Potential risks
- Weak enforcement: Policies may fail without consistent monitoring and accountability.
Tools and good practices
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Climate Action Accelerator, Travel toolkit, 2024
The Climate Action Accelerator has developed a professional travel toolkit to help organisations implement their travel emissions reduction target.
Explore here -
ETH Zurich, Air Travel Emissions Dashboard, 2022
ETH has been recording its emissions from work-related air travel since 2006. The methodology changed from a spend-based method to a more precise recording method according to the VDR standard by the external partner Atmosfair. Data is collected and is more granular at the level of departments, institutes, professorships and with detailed information on the individual flights.
Explore here -
Goodwings, How to create a sustainable travel policy, 2023
Goodwings published a blog covering different types of corporate travel policies, reasons for their necessity, and justifications for personal involvement in their development. This blog also provides insight on first steps, implementation, and embedding sustainability in policy development.
Explore here -
Travel Perk, Sustainable travel policy template
Travel Perk has published a customizable travel policy template to facilitate the task of organisations developing their own. It includes sustainability concerns and recommendations, such as the promotion of direct flights and airline choices, quick tips throughout, and the presentation of tools to track travel footprints and progress.
Explore here -
The Green Element, Creating a policy for sustainable business travel, 2024
This general guide informs about the impact of professional travel, what can be done to reduce it, how to “sustainably travel” and enforcing this through a travel policy. The latter section is composed of a list of recommendations, breaking down the process of policy development in a synthesised, easy-to-follow format.
Explore here
To go further
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Imperial College London, Sustainable travel policy, 2023
The policy intends to raise awareness of carbon impacts, reduction in flight volume, and promote low-carbon alternatives (ie. videoconferencing, evaluating the necessity of travel, rail opportunities). This includes emission comparisons of different travel modes and the time it takes to travel to different locations. It emphasizes the role of leads in guiding their staff to best choices.
Explore here -
American Express, The essentials for building a sustainable travel policy, 2024
Provides and explains a list of key actions to incorporate sustainability in corporate travel programs. Ranges from reporting and monitoring to direct flights, train travel and other alternatives, to awareness-raising, and more. AMEX emphasises the importance of data analytics and metrics to build a travel program.
Explore here -
The CFO, how to navigate the cost of going green, 2024
The article addresses ways to financially adapt to sustainable travel transitions by implementing clear policies, educating travelers, leveraging technology, forming sustainability-driven partnerships and analysing the induced return on investments.
Explore here -
Travel Smart Campaign, Travel Policy Toolkit, 2024
The toolkit contains tools to facilitate the development of sustainable travel policies (checklists, guides, infographics, decision trees.), as well as a repository travel policies from Travel Smart partners (AEF, Eco-Union, and more).
Explore here
Acknowledgment
Last updated 15 November 20224
Share your success stories, suggestions, and comments with us! contact@climateactionaccelerator.org
Featured
Professional travel
Online meetings & trainings
Train travel
Direct flights
Air travel reduction
Lowest emission flights
Sources
(1) International Panel on Climate Change, ‘Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’, chapter 10.5.1, 2022. Available here (accessed 21 August 2024).
(2) N. Dolsak, ‘Different approaches to reducing aviation emissions: reviewing the structure-agency debate in climate policy’, Nature Portfolio, 2022. Available here (accessed 21 August 2024).
(3) M. Klower, ‘Quantifying aviation’s contribution to global warming’, Environmental research, 2021. Available here (accessed 21 August 2024).
(4) Climate Action Accelerator, ‘Roadmap for halving emissions in the humanitarian sector by 2030 a path to climate-smart humanitarian action’, 2024. Available here (accessed 21 August 2024).
(5) Corporate traveler, ‘The complete guide to corporate travel policies’, 2024. Available here (accessed 21 August 2024).
(6) TravelPerk, ‘The ultimate guide to reducing carbon footprint for businesses’, 2024. Available here (accessed 21 August 2024).
(7) SAP Concur, ‘Corporate Travel Sustainability Index’, 2020. Available here (accessed 21 August 2024).
(8) S.Zheng, D. Rutherford, ‘Variation in aviation emissions by itinerary: The case for emissions disclosure’, The ICCT, 2021. Available here (accessed 21 August 2024)
(9) Economy 79 gCO2 per pkm vs Business 228 gCO2 per pkm. GHG Protocol, ‘Defra emissions factors’, 2021. Available here (accessed 21 August 2024).
(10) YouMatter, ‘You Matter Planes Or Cars – Which Pollutes The Most? Which Is More Sustainable?’ 2023. Available here (accessed 21 August 2024).
(11) R. Somes, ‘How to Approach Change Management in the Travel Industry’, Traveltek, 2024. Available here (accessed 21 August 2024).
Credits
Cover photo: Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona/Unsplash