Top global companies are flying less, but many-including Google and Apple-still lack specific targets to cut business travel, a diligence gap that's undermining efforts to decarbonize aviation, warn Europe's leading clean transport advocates.
Business travel by 239 out of 326 ranked companies fell 34% between 2019 and 2023, but "disproportionate flying" by firms like JPMorgan Chase, Merck, and Bosch, and a widespread failure to track or cap emissions, has slowed progress, Transport & Environment (T&E) said in a release.
In the fourth edition of its corporate travel rankings, T&E reveals to consumers, investors, and competitors which companies are leaders or laggards in business flight decarbonization, in a bid to push companies to lead by example.
It also offers advice on how to set and achieve business flight travel targets. The top suggestions: replace long-haul flights with virtual meetings, and shorter flights with train travel.
Citing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's call for "rapid, deep cuts" to aviation emissions to keep alive the 1.5C limit on global heating, T&E is urging businesses to cut their corporate air travel emissions by at least 50% from 2019 levels by 2030.
Achieving this goal would cut Europe's emissions by 32.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, equal to taking 16 million fossil-fuelled cars off the road.
As for whether sustainable fuels, zero-emissions aircraft, and offsets will do the trick, T&E is unequivocal: Flying less is the only option, given that the "scale-up" for the first two initiatives is expected only after 2030 and the third "has been shown to be ineffective."
Out of the 322 companies ranked this year, just 11 earned an A grade, while 38 were awarded a B. The "overwhelming majority," 212, scraped a C, and the remaining 61 got a failing D.
Swiss Re, AstraZeneca, and Tetra Pak led the way, with their 2023 emissions dropping 67%, 52%, and 41% respectively, compared to 2019 levels. On the other end of the spectrum were JPMorgan Chase, Merck, and Bosch, who increased emissions by 41%, 29%, and 3% over 2019 levels.
The business travel emissions of the 25 "top flyers," including self-described "green" leaders Google and Apple, stood at 6.9 million tonnes of CO2 annually, equal to the footprint of 48,000 single flights from Paris to New York-or 1.3 times the yearly aviation emissions of Belgium.
T&E says there is a clear link between having a business travel emissions target and reducing emissions. Businesses with air travel targets on the books have cut their emissions by 48% since 2019, while businesses with no targets at all have reduced them by only 28%.
The top flyers are the worst offenders, but 44% of the ranked companies continue to have no targets. This failure poses a risk to both current and future progress, T&E warns.
Source: The Energy Mix
