A new analysis by T&E’s Travel Smart Campaign of the business travel emissions of 9 major German companies [1], reveals that, on average, they have reduced their travel emissions by 40% in 2024 as compared to 2019.
Overall, the positive trend of reducing business travel emissions is confirmed. However, the analysis reveals disparities between companies: some are reducing their emissions by more than half, while a few are also on a downward yet slower trend. Greater action is needed from the laggards to get in phase with the new normal of avoiding business travel which in Germany has seen a steep decline since the pandemic, with a 44% drop in 2024 compared to 2019, according to the Deutsche Reiseverband.
T&E’s global analysis for the 2025 Travel Smart Ranking shows that companies with specific business travel targets are more effective in reducing their emissions. Of the nine companies [2] covered in the current analysis, only one – Allianz – has set specific targets for reducing their business travel emissions. Eight have either no target at all, or only a broader reduction target that includes many of the company’s activities.
Indeed, insurance company Allianz has established a clear target to reduce business travel emissions by 2030, and achieved a leading 60% reduction between 2019 and 2024 while implementing measures such as promoting digital collaboration and other low-carbon alternatives.
Sectors such as consulting, where travel is responsible for a sizable share of company emissions, are leading in emissions reductions. These sector dynamics extend to a global firm without a specific target, SAP, thanks to measures including investing in virtual collaboration and communication technologies, and charging a carbon price on business flights to incentivise employees to fly less or choose a more sustainable alternative mode of travel instead, according to their latest response to the CDP questionnaire.
In contrast, chemical giant BASF, which has not set any target, has seen its travel emissions return to only 12% below 2019 levels in 2024. The manufacturing company Adidas, with a broader reduction target, is in a similar situation (-10%).
This decline is likely driven by a shift in how German companies approach business travel. Virtual collaboration tools are viewed as convenient and effective ways for holding meetings. Where physical travel is necessary, companies are increasingly opting for more sustainable alternatives, such as rail where 82% of German business travelers choose the train for door-to-door journeys of up to three hours – and would likely do so even more often if German rail services were to become more reliable.
Reductions in travel expenses and growing environmental awareness among travel managers and employees are also key factors. Indeed, 63.5% of European respondents in the latest BTN 2025 Sustainability Report mentioned climate concerns as a major influence on their travel decisions. Finally, many companies are also motivated by the need to comply with regulations such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), with 52% of companies in the referenced report naming this as a reason for pursuing business travel emissions reductions.
T&E and the Travel Smart campaign call on German companies to set specific targets to reduce business travel emissions by at least 50% compared to 2019 levels, between 2025 and 2030.
This suggested target has been set on the basis of T&E’s roadmap, which shows that a 50% reduction in corporate travel emissions is necessary by 2030, in order to keep aviation on a trajectory compatible with a 1.5°C planet [3].
Notes to editor:
[1] Includes companies covered in the Travel Smart Ranking, with actual or estimated air travel emissions of between 50,000 and 350,000 tons CO2 in 2019, and having comparable data for 2019 and 2024. These are some of the biggest corporate flyers in Germany.
[2] The 9 German companies were analysed using 2024 data from their annual sustainability reports. Thanks to the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), many companies now disclose their business travel emissions in their annual reports, allowing them to be assessed.
[3] In 2024, the European aviation sector almost fully bounced back to pre-COVID levels, reaching 96% of 2019 flight numbers and 98% of CO2 emissions, according to T&E’s analysis. Without the reductions in business flying, this increase would be bigger.
