As sustainability shifts from buzzword to responsible business practices, companies can no longer ignore the fact that business travel is a key driver of emissions. In fact, business travel is a significant part of aviation’s climate problem overall, accounting for about 15–20% of global air travel, or roughly 154 million Mt CO₂ in 2019. In Europe, approximately 27% of aviation emissions come from business travel. (Source: Transport & Environment).
The solution? Introducing a carbon budget — a clear, trackable limit on how much CO₂ your organization can emit from travel over a set period.
Think of it like a financial budget, but for your planetary impact. It’s about making conscious decisions, cutting unnecessary emissions, and staying aligned with your ESG goals — without putting business growth on hold.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through exactly how to set up a carbon budget for business travel, explore the real-world benefits, and show how tools like Goodwings can help make the process seamless.
To put it simply, we are surpassing the planet's capacity to absorb our emissions. Initiatives like Earth Overshoot Day, highlight how quickly we deplete resources that should sustain us for the year. By adopting a carbon budget, businesses can reduce their environmental footprint and lead the charge for a more sustainable future.
Beyond climate-science urgency, carbon budgeting offers real, tangible benefits for companies. These include:
Whether you’re an SME or a multinational, every step taken towards emissions control matters.
How to create a carbon budget for business travelFollow these practical steps to develop and implement a carbon budget tailored to your business needs.
1. Define your scope
Determine what travel activities will fall under your carbon budget. Will you measure all travel emissions, or limit it to major contributors such as flights and accommodation? Common scopes include:
Clearly defining the scope ensures comprehensive data collection and accurate tracking. 2. Collect and analyze travel data
Gather all historical travel data over a fixed period (e.g., past 12 months). Focus on metrics like the number of trips, type of transportation, distances travelled, nights in hotels, and traveller details. Tools such as Goodwings can help you centralize this information for easy access and analysis. Accurate and comprehensive data underpins your carbon budget’s credibility and effectiveness. 3. Decide on a framework, and calculate your travel emissions
Once you’ve captured your data, calculate CO2 emissions for each travel activity. Use standardized emission factors aligned with globally recognized protocols, such as those from DEFRA or the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and follow globally recognized framework for measuring, managing, and reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. For example:
To simplify calculations, sustainability software or tools like the Goodwings Sustainability Suite can automatically generate emission figures for your travel activities. You can learn more about the different methodologies used to calculate emissions from travel in our blog article "Understanding Travel Emissions Methodologies".
4. Decide on target typeBefore you can set targets, you need to decide which type of target you are setting There are two paths you can take when setting an emission target; Absolute and intensity-based. Intensity: An intensity-based emissions target compares your organizations emissions to some unit of economic output. Examples could be revenue-based (i.e., MT of CO2 per million dollars in sales), per capita or per employee, per building or facility, per unit or finished product, or another material operational indicator.
5. Set reduction targets
Determine reduction goals for your carbon budget. For instance, reduce emissions by 8% annually to meet net-zero goals. Align these targets with broader organisational KPIs for sustainability. Examples of travel reduction strategies include:
Set department-specific or team-level budgets to increase accountability across your organization. 6. Monitor progress in real-time
Establish a system to track your live performance against your carbon budget. This ensures that teams or individuals know how close they are to exceeding their allocated limits. Goodwings offers built-in tracking tools and automated notifications to alert you when segments of your budget approach their limits. Such transparency ensures compliance and helps identify areas for adjustment.
7. Implement reduction strategies
With tracking in place, it's time to proactively adopt strategies to reduce emissions.
8. Report and re-evaluateAt the end of each reporting cycle, assess how your carbon budget performed. Did your strategy meet its reduction goals? What can you improve next year?
Providing a transparent report not only ensures accountability but also cements your organization’s commitment to sustainability goals among stakeholders and clients. Explore how Goodwings can streamline your carbon budgeting here. |
Managing data, calculations, and tracking can be complex, but the right tools make all the difference. This is where Goodwings steps in.
How Goodwings' travel management system can help:
With technology like Goodwings, carbon budgeting transitions from complex spreadsheets to seamless, data-driven insights.
Start your carbon budgeting journey with us today. Book a chat with Goodwings to see how we can transform your carbon budgeting. |
Clear communication from leadership, supported by internal policies, fosters widespread acceptance and adherence to carbon budgets.
Advanced carbon tracking tools simplify reporting, forecasting, and helps you monitor budgets, allowing for accurate and actionable insights.
Ensure emissions data, from flights to meals, is centralized and synchronized across all relevant departments.
Recognize teams and individuals hitting milestones. This reinforces long-term commitment to sustainable practices and drives team spirit - gamify it, make it competitive, and keep the focus on positive impact, to get all employees onboard.
Carbon budgeting isn’t just the responsibility of sustainability managers. Encourage all departments—from finance to procurement—to contribute to solutions.
A carbon budget for business travel is a powerful tool for reducing your organization's environmental impact while maintaining operational efficiency. By setting a clear limit on CO₂ emissions, you can cut emissions, reduce travel costs, boost accountability, engage employees in company ESG goals, and stay compliant with reporting requirements and government regulations.
A carbon budget for business travel is not just about limiting emissions but about rethinking when, why, and how your organization travels in the first place. By following the steps outlined above, you can create a framework that empowers your company to operate more responsibly, making ESG goals tangible while maintaining productivity and efficiency.
At the end of the day, achieving success with carbon budgets requires collaboration, clarity, and commitment. And the best time to get started is now.
For more innovative ways to tackle your organization’s travel emissions, explore how our tools and insights can help.
Learn more about our Sustainability Suite here.