What is Business Travel Emissions?
Carbon emissions from employee travel for business purposes, including flights, trains, car journeys, and hotels. Business travel is typically a significant Scope 3 category for professional services firms.
Why it matters
Business travel is often the largest directly controllable Scope 3 category for service-based businesses. Post-pandemic, many firms have found that maintaining reduced travel does not harm client relationships, making it a quick and popular reduction target.
Example
An accounting firm analyses its business travel data and finds that 12 return flights to Edinburgh per year could be replaced with train journeys. The switch saves 4.2 tCO₂e annually and reduces expenses by £3,600.
Related terms
Scope 3 Emissions
All other indirect emissions occurring in an organisation's value chain, both upstream and downstream. Scope 3 typically represents 70-90% of a company's total carbon footprint and includes emissions from suppliers, business travel, employee commuting, and product use.
Employee Commuting
Carbon emissions from employees travelling between home and work. Employee commuting is a Scope 3 category that can be addressed through remote working, cycling schemes, and public transport incentives.
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