DATA DRIVEN

To calculate emissions, hotels collect data on energy consumption and use conversion factors to calculate the associated emissions. Conversion factors are typically provided by organisations such as DEFRA, which develops comprehensive methodolgies adopted by companies and organisations globally to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions, including Scope 3 emissions, which are indirect emissions from sources such as business travel.

Why is the accuracy of carbon data so important for the future?

Sustainability data is critical for tracking progress and measuring results. It enables businesses to better understand their environmental impact, identify areas for improvement and set meaningful targets.

Some corporate travel solutions pull this sort of information directly into their customer-facing reporting and online booking tools, such as CTM’s Data Hub and online booking tool, Lightning, to enable businesses to easily and effectively make strategic, proactive and reactive decisions that have a real and positive impact.

How are airline carbon emissions calculated?

Data intelligence organisations gather and analyse complex datasets from across the air transport industry and translate that information into usable CO² emissions data.

At CTM, we partner with RDC Aviation for airline sustainability insights. RDC bases its CO² calculations on a wide range of factors, including aircraft type, engine type, the age of the aircraft, the investment the airline is making in sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), seat configurations (business, premium, and economy) and origin-destination pair.

This data then allows for comparisons of carbon emissions between airlines or even the same airline on the same day. Dependent on these factors there might be a variance between 10-30% on emissions based on two economy seats on the same day, same airline, and same route, at different times of the day.

How are hotel carbon emissions calculated?

A widely-used method to track and calculate hotel carbon emissions is the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI), developed by the hospitality industry, which provides a standard approach for calculating and reporting the carbon footprint of hotel stays consistently.

HCMI offers a simplified method for hotels to aggregate and communicate their use of energy and water. It considers factors such as the renewable energy used by the hotel, including electricity, heating and cooling, hot water, steam, laundry and kitchen services.

The accuracy of carbon data reporting also allows businesses to comply with regulatory requirements and meet the growing expectations of customers, investors and other stakeholders increasingly concerned about environmental sustainability. It can also help businesses build their reputation, attract new customers, and retain existing ones, particularly in industries where sustainability is a key competitive differentiator.

By understanding an organisation's carbon footprint, travel programme managers can work with key stakeholders in the business to develop effective strategies for reducing emissions, such as optimising their travel policy, implementing carbon-offsetting programmes and empowering travellers and travel bookers to make more sustainable choices when booking business travel.