How to Report Business Travel Emissions (Flights, Hotels, Trains)

Introduction

Business travel is one of the most common — and often overlooked — sources of Scope 3 emissions under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Whether your team travels by plane, train, or car, those journeys contribute to your company’s overall carbon footprint.

The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS E1) and VSME Standard (EFRAG 2024) require companies to account for emissions from business travel that’s paid for or reimbursed by the company. Fortunately, you don’t need complex software to comply — simple, well-documented estimates are acceptable.

This guide explains how to collect data, calculate emissions for different transport types, and disclose your business travel impact transparently.

For general guidance on handling incomplete data, see how to estimate missing data for CSRD reporting.

1. What Counts as Business Travel Under CSRD

Business travel covers all transport and accommodation used by employees for work-related purposes, excluding daily commuting. It includes:

• Flights (domestic, regional, and long-haul)
• Trains and other public transport
• Company or rental car trips
• Taxis and ride-hailing services
• Hotel stays and overnight accommodation

These activities fall under Scope 3, Category 6 of the GHG Protocol: “Business travel not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2.”

2. Data You’ll Need to Collect

Start by identifying where travel information already exists in your systems:

• Invoices and receipts from travel agencies or booking platforms
• Expense claims or company credit card reports
• Hotel and transport bookings from internal systems
• Mileage logs for personal car use

For each journey, record:

• Travel mode (flight, train, car, etc.)
• Distance (km) or spend (€)
• Class of travel (economy, business, first)
• Nights stayed (for hotels)

If your travel data is incomplete, estimate missing trips or distances based on spend or typical routes — this is allowed under both CSRD and VSME proportionality rules.

3. How to Calculate Travel Emissions

You can calculate emissions using either:

• Distance-based data (preferred if you know kilometres flown or driven), or
• Spend-based data (if you only have financial records).

A. Flights

Use official emission factors by flight type:

Example: A 2,000 km round trip (medium haul) × 0.195 × 2 = 0.78 tCO₂e per passenger.

B. Train and Public Transport

Train travel is typically low-carbon:

• Electric train: 0.012 kg CO₂e/km
• Diesel train: 0.045 kg CO₂e/km
• Metro or bus: 0.060–0.100 kg CO₂e/km

Example: 500 km by train = 6 kg CO₂e.

C. Cars and Taxis

If you know the fuel type:

• Petrol car: 0.180 kg CO₂e/km
• Diesel car: 0.165 kg CO₂e/km
• Electric car: 0.050 kg CO₂e/km (EU average electricity mix)

If not, apply a blended average: 0.170 kg CO₂e/km.

D. Hotels

Accommodation emissions are calculated by night stayed × emission factor:

• Mid-range hotel: 15–25 kg CO₂e/night
• Luxury hotel: 40–60 kg CO₂e/night
• Eco-certified hotel: 5–10 kg CO₂e/night

Example: 20 hotel nights × 20 = 0.4 tCO₂e.

You can use DEFRA, EEA, or ADEME Base Carbone data for all emission factors.

4. How to Disclose Travel Emissions in CSRD Reports

Under ESRS E1-6 and VSME B7, disclose:

1. Total emissions by category (e.g. flights, car, rail, accommodation).
2. Estimation methods used (distance- or spend-based).
3. Actions taken to reduce travel or switch to low-carbon options.

Example disclosure:

“In 2025, total business travel emissions were estimated at 28.5 tCO₂e, including 65% from flights, 25% from hotels, and 10% from car and train travel. Calculations used distance-based estimates from travel invoices and DEFRA 2024 emission factors. The company promotes train travel and virtual meetings to reduce air travel.”

This satisfies CSRD expectations for transparency and traceability.

5. Reducing Business Travel Emissions

Reducing travel emissions is often one of the easiest and most visible sustainability improvements. Practical actions include:

• Prioritising video conferencing for client meetings.
• Setting a “train under 500 km” policy.
• Using eco-certified hotels or corporate booking platforms with sustainability filters.
• Tracking travel data centrally for analysis and improvement.

These measures can be reported under ESRS E1-6 (Climate Mitigation) and ESRS S1-11 (Employee Wellbeing).

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to include employee travel paid personally?

Yes, if reimbursed by the company. Personal leisure travel does not count.

What if travel data is incomplete?

Use spend-based estimates (e.g. € spent × emission factor per €) and disclose assumptions. See our guide to estimating missing data.

Should hotel stays outside the EU be included?

Yes. All business travel — domestic and international — is part of your Scope 3 inventory.

Do I have to separate flights by class?

If possible, yes. Business and first-class travel have higher per-passenger emissions due to space allocation.

Key Terms

• Scope 3 Category 6 – Indirect emissions from business travel.
• Emission factor – Average CO₂e released per unit of activity (e.g. km, €).
• Radiative forcing (RFI) – Adjustment accounting for non-CO₂ effects of aviation.
• VSME Standard – Simplified sustainability reporting standard for SMEs.
• Materiality – The significance of an impact in relation to total emissions.

Conclusion

Reporting business travel emissions is straightforward once you identify your data sources and apply standard emission factors. Start with invoices, estimate where necessary, and disclose your assumptions transparently.

Over time, you can refine your data with travel platform exports and supplier reporting — showing continuous improvement in line with CSRD expectations.

To plan your data collection throughout the year, refer to our annual CSRD reporting calendar.

Calculate your own business travel emissions using our interactive calculator:

The calculator uses the same DEFRA 2024 emission factors referenced above and provides a detailed breakdown of your emissions by category (flights, trains, cars, and hotels) with personalized recommendations for reduction.