12 Tips for More Sustainable Business Travel

Sustainable business travel has become an increasingly pressing priority for companies. The concept centers on minimizing the carbon footprint of travel by choosing eco-friendly transportation and accommodation, reducing waste, and making smarter day-to-day choices on the road. Small changes across a company's travel program can add up to a meaningful reduction in environmental impact.

1. Choose travel providers carefully

Look for travel providers who offer genuinely sustainable options, including information on eco-friendly hotels and lower-emission transportation. Working with local tour operators at the destination can add to the impact, since they often know how to minimize a trip's environmental footprint while maximizing benefits to local communities.

2. Go paperless

E-tickets and online bookings make printing boarding passes and travel documents unnecessary. Keeping tickets on a phone or laptop reduces the risk of losing them and cuts down on paper use, which in turn reduces demand on forests and wildlife habitats.

3. Choose direct flights over business class

Direct flights typically produce fewer emissions than connecting flights, since they require fewer takeoffs and landings. A World Bank study found that business class passengers can generate roughly three times the emissions of economy class passengers, largely because business class seats take up more cabin space and add weight, increasing fuel consumption.

4. Be mindful in hotels

Eco-friendly accommodation varies widely depending on location and local regulations, so it helps to look for hotels that actively limit energy and water use, reduce waste, use renewable energy, or source products locally. Where a fully sustainable option isn't available, small choices, such as skipping unnecessary linen or towel changes, still make a difference.

5. Consider an electric rental car

Hiring an electric car for business travel reduces emissions and can also lower fuel costs. With charging infrastructure increasingly widespread, and apps available to locate nearby stations, range is less of a concern than it once was.

6. Use car-sharing apps and public transport

Ride-sharing services and public transport are convenient, lower-emission alternatives to renting a car, and sharing a ride further reduces per-passenger emissions. Public transport also offers a more direct way to experience a destination alongside local residents.

7. Take the train when possible

For shorter distances, train travel is often a more comfortable and relaxed alternative to flying, with more legroom and scenic routes through the countryside or along the coast. Train stations are also frequently located centrally, making it easy to explore a destination before or after business meetings.

8. Cut down on plastic waste

Carrying a reusable water bottle and a foldable coffee cup reduces single-use plastic waste and can save money, especially as more hotels and restaurants offer refill stations.

9. Reduce, reuse, recycle

Refillable toiletry containers, a reusable tote bag, and attention to recycling bins at hotels and airports all help minimize waste generated during a trip.

10. Pack only what's needed

Efficient packing reduces the overall weight carried on a flight, which in turn reduces fuel use. Leaving behind rarely used items, relying on hotel amenities where possible, and packing only what a trip genuinely requires all contribute to a lighter footprint.

11. Eat local

Food production accounts for a significant share of global greenhouse gas emissions, with transport, packaging, and processing adding further impact. Choosing local, seasonal food during a business trip lowers that footprint while supporting the local economy, and often makes for a more memorable trip.

12. Build a green travel policy

Companies can take a proactive approach by reviewing current travel practices and identifying opportunities for improvement, such as favoring public transport or eco-friendly accommodation. Sharing the results of more sustainable trips with colleagues helps build momentum for a broader shift in company travel habits.

Why this matters

None of these changes require a complete overhaul of a company's travel program. Adopting even a handful of these practices can meaningfully reduce the environmental impact of business travel while often saving money along the way.

Sources: World Bank