European Parliament’s New Transport Emissions Framework Gains Global Business Travel Association Support

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) has expressed its support for the European Parliament’s recent endorsement of the CountEmissionsEU report. This legislation aims to implement a unified and precise system for measuring transportation emissions, which is vital for enabling business travelers to evaluate the environmental impact of various travel options, including different transport providers and modes.

GBTA’s own research, detailed in the 2023 “The State of Climate Action in Business Travel – Global Industry Barometer,” highlights the growing trend among corporate travel managers to monitor travel-related emissions. According to the report, 64% of managers tracked emissions in 2023, up from 55% in 2022, with an additional 15% planning to start. The variety of existing calculation methods complicates these efforts, with many managers using multiple approaches to collect and calculate emissions data. This results in challenges in obtaining a comprehensive understanding of emissions. The proposed regulation aims to simplify this process by introducing a standardized method for all.

The GBTA also praises the Parliament’s request that the ISO standard for emissions calculation selected by the Commission be accessible either for free or at a reduced cost. This measure would facilitate easier adoption by operators.

Furthermore, the GBTA supports the initiative to ensure data intermediaries providing multimodal travel options can offer accurate emissions information from primary data that operators are required to share. This transparency would allow business travelers to make more environmentally sound choices, especially when considering multimodal travel routes. The association emphasizes the need for the Commission to quickly introduce a regulation on Multimodal Digital Mobility Services (MDMS) to expand such offerings.

Suzanne Neufang, CEO of GBTA, stated that the association is eager to work with EU policymakers to improve the effectiveness of this initiative and hopes it will lead to a worldwide standard for calculating transport emissions.

Additionally, GBTA has launched a new report outlining the top priorities for the business travel industry for the EU’s upcoming 2024-2029 legislative period, titled “Shaping the Future of Europe Via Business Travel.” As Europe enters this new phase, GBTA stresses that these priorities will be crucial for maintaining the region’s competitiveness and advancing its ecological goals.

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