What does a climate-conscious travel policy look like - and how can you build one?
What does a climate-conscious travel policy look like - and how can you build one?
Global business travel spending is projected to hit $1.57 trillion by 2025, indicating demand is rebounding fast. With new sustainability reporting requirements like the CSRD and SEC rules, companies are under growing scrutiny to account for their carbon footprint.
If you’re serious about reducing your company’s climate impact, your travel policy is one of the most direct levers you have. That's why we've created a comprehensive guide on how you keep climate impact a top priority in your travel policy.
Here’s a quick look at what you’ll learn:
💡 What is a (more) sustainable travel policy — and why does it matter?
You may have heard about "eco-friendly travel" and "sustainable travel", but the truth is that there's no such thing. However, you can make more informed and responsible travel decisions. One way to do this is by shaping your policies to support responsible and sustainable habits. A sustainable travel policy is similar to a regular corporate policy, but with the added purpose of minimizing the negative impact of travel on the environment, society, and local communities, to promote a responsible approach to travel in general.
Sustainable travel policies go beyond booking rules. They empower employees to make better travel choices, support managers in taking control of company travel emissions, and help align your company with ESG targets.
Key benefits of making your travel policy more sustainable
✅ Greater transparency and accountability around travel-related emissions and spending.
✅ Empowers and encourages employees to choose more responsible travel options.
✅ Improves compliance while allowing employees the flexibility to book and manage their travel.
✅ Enhances employee safety by ensuring that their responsible travel options meet corporate standards.
🔧 6 Practical Ways to Cut Travel Emissions
The guide walks you through actionable strategies, such as:
- Reducing unnecessary trips with clear guidelines
- Tracking emissions to uncover high-impact habits
- Flying smarter – think non-stop routes and economy seats
- Bundling trips to reduce overall travel volume
- Switching to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
- Prioritizing trains, electric taxis, and public transport
🏨 It’s not just about flights
You’ll also learn how to:
- Choose lower-impact hotels with sustainability certifications
- Build in flexibility for employees to book trips more responsibly
- Rethink leisure extensions like “bleisure” travel to reduce per-trip emissions
- Encourage climate-friendly commuting to the office
👩💼 Implementation tips
Rolling out a sustainable travel policy isn’t just about rules — it’s about **changing behavior**:
- Get leadership buy-in (yes, your CEO should send that email)
- Start with a pilot project
- Empower teams to track their own emissions
- Make it fun: run internal competitions and celebrate wins
Want to build a travel policy that helps your company cut emissions — and supports your team on the road?
