In a service company, flights and train trips to customers can be one of the largest items in the carbon footprint. The data is usually already in your travel bookings and expense claims. The trouble is that these records rarely show the distance, and that trips in company cars belong somewhere else.
- Scope 3 category 6, business travel: emissions from work trips in vehicles that your company does not own or operate, such as planes and trains.
- Not company cars: trips in vehicles that you own or control belong to Scope 1 or Scope 2.
- Methods: fuel-based, distance-based and spend-based.
- Reduction: meet online, take the train instead of the plane and fly economy class.
What does category 6 include?
Category 6 covers emissions from employees' work trips in vehicles that the reporting company does not own or operate. Examples are planes, trains, buses and cars.
You report emissions from travel in vehicles that your company owns or controls in Scope 1. For electric vehicles, they go to Scope 2.
Some vehicles that your company leases are not in Scope 1 or Scope 2. Their emissions go to category 8 of Scope 3 (upstream leased assets).
Emissions from employees' travel to and from work go to category 7 of Scope 3 (employee commuting).
For which companies does category 6 matter?
This category matters most for service companies, where emissions from other categories may not be high.
Calculation methods
You can calculate the carbon footprint of business travel with three methods:
- Fuel-based method: you take the amount of fuel used on business trips and apply the emission factor for that fuel.
- Distance-based method: you find the distance and the type of each trip. Then you apply the emission factor for that mode of transport, usually given per passenger-kilometre.
- Spend-based method: you find the amount spent on each mode of transport used for business travel. Then you apply secondary emission factors.
Where do you find the data for this category?
You can get data for category 6 in these ways:
- questionnaires for employees about their business trips;
- working with travel agencies to get details of the trips or of their greenhouse gas emissions;
- tracking the distance travelled from expense claims and refunds.
What are the main challenges in category 6?
Business travel data can be inaccurate and incomplete. For example, it may not show the number of kilometres driven. Take care not to mix data, and filter out the parts of trips made in company cars.
How to reduce emissions in category 6?
These steps help you cut emissions from business travel:
- Check if the meeting can take place online instead of in person.
- Find out if there is a way to travel with lower CO₂ emissions, for example by train instead of by plane.
- Encourage employees to share a car on business trips.
- If a trip by plane is necessary, choose economy class.
