Rail travel for work: which companies are paving the way for sustainable business travel?

(Transport and Environment, 9 Nov 2023) Flying for work is all too common for some employees. But on some common routes like London-Amsterdam, traveling by rail over plane will reduce the employee’s carbon footprint by 93%. Yet, too few companies have embraced rail in their business travel policies, a new briefing by the Travel Smart Campaign finds.

Business travel represents 15-20% of global air travel. At a time when companies are trying to reduce their carbon footprints, cutting down on business flying is an easy way to meet sustainability goals. Rail travel is a viable and desirable option, available to companies operating in Europe and the US. Yet too few companies are embracing rail travel in their business travel policies. This is the main finding of a new briefing by the Travel Smart Campaign and Transport & Environment.

Emissions reduction on certain common business routes can go up to -97%.

Only very few companies are actively promoting rail travel among employees. The Travel Smart campaign surveyed 322 companies to gather information on their travel policy practices. Of the companies which replied to the survey, 28 have established policies to shift business flying to rail. Notably, 294 companies either lack policies or have not been identified as having specific policies to shift from air to rail. This is a worrying observation, given the urgency of the climate crisis, T&E says.

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Transport and Environment, 9 Nov 2023: Rail travel for work: which companies are paving the way for sustainable business travel?