Nearly Half of Global Business Firms Reduced Travel Emissions by at Least 50% Since 2019, Analysis Finds

According to a new analysis by Travel Smart, a campaign by the European Federation for Transport and Environment, about half of over 200 global business firms reduced their business-related travel emissions by over 50% from 2019 to 2022. Much of this reduction in emissions could be attributed to less air travel since the pandemic.

The Travel Smart campaign analyzed travel of 217 global firms from 2019 to 2022. Of the total firms analyzed, 104 were found to reduce travel emissions by at least 50%, in part thanks to virtual meetings that reduced the need for corporate travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The analysis found that tech company SAP had the greatest reduction in travel emissions, about 86%, followed by Pfizer with a 78% reduction and PwC with a decline in emissions of about 76%.

On average, business travel emissions for these global firms declined by about 51% from 2019 to 2022, according to the findings.

“Overall it’s a positive picture to see so many companies not returning to pre-2019 levels of flying. Lessons from the pandemic have been learnt: the way forward is collaboration with more online meetings, more travel by train and less by plane,” Denise Auclair, Travel Smart campaign manager, said in a statement.

The European Federation for Transport and Environment noted that business travel emissions need to decline by 50% during this decade compared to pre-pandemic levels to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the target set by the Paris Agreement to avoid catastrophic impacts of climate change.

While many companies met and surpassed this goal so far, 113 companies did not cut emissions by half, according to the campaign. The Travel Smart analysis said that JP Morgan Chase had a 13% decline in business travel emissions compared to 2019 levels, followed by Merck at a 17% decline and Johnson & Johnson at a 28% decline. 

Twenty-one of the 113 companies even ended up with higher travel-related emissions than pre-pandemic levels, including L3Harris, Boston Scientific and Marriott International, the analysis said.

Had these 113 companies cut business travel emissions by half, the Travel Smart campaign said they could have saved over 1.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

However, Boston Scientific refuted the findings, telling Reuters, “It reflects the company’s Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) disclosure for business travel prior to Boston Scientific receiving approval of its net-zero, science-based scopes 1, 2 and 3 targets.”

Although global firms have seen an average 50% decline in travel-related emissions since 2019, the Smart Travel campaign is urging the 171 of 217 studied firms that don’t have reduction targets to set a goal to limit emissions by 50% or more. The European Federation for Transport and Environment estimated that aviation emissions could increase by 38% from 2019 to 2050 without technology improvements, more efficient fuels, regulations, and a decline in air travel.

“The era of uncontrolled business flying is coming to an end. Governments are taking notice and cracking down on unnecessary flights. This makes sense for the planet but also for the businesses themselves, who can cut costs and prioritise the well-being of their employees,” Auclair said.