Corporates are continuing to focus on the sustainability of business travel in 2025, despite changing political and regulatory stances on climate change initiatives, according to new BTN research.

The BTN Intelligence survey of just under 200 buyers, who are predominantly based in North America and Europe, found that most organisations still regard sustainability and carbon reporting as an important issue to tackle.

This comes despite increased geopolitical uncertainty, including US President Donald Trump's return to the White House, which quickly led to a high-profile withdrawal of corporate support for sustainability programmes in the US.

Despite this seismic change, the survey of buyers reveals that 61.1 per cent of organisations have set overall carbon reduction targets, with the figure notably higher for those based in Europe (67.2 per cent) than in North America (56.2 per cent).

This transatlantic disparity is shown up throughout the research ¨C for example, 44.6 per cent of Europe-based travel buyers have set an emissions target for business travel, compared with just 28.9 per cent of their North America counterparts.

Part of the driving force for the higher importance of sustainability among European buyers is due to legislation such as the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), despite the delay in implementing this initiative.

The survey also examines the tools and policies that corporates are using to reduce their emissions from business travel, with the implementation of carbon budgets becoming more popular.

Making CO2 emissions visible at the point of sale was the most widely used sustainability initiative among respondents to the survey, followed by giving preference to direct flights and promoting virtual meeting tools.

The poll also looks at how buyers are collaborating with a range of partners on their sustainability journeys, including TMCs and OBTs (online booking tools), as well as seeking help from specialist sustainability platforms and consultants.

Read the full results from the survey in BTN¡¯s 2025 Business Travel Sustainability Report, as well as case studies and the latest trends on the subject, including aviation and accommodation.