Less than 40 per cent of the world¡¯s largest companies publicly disclose the carbon footprint of their business travel activity, according to a study by Areka Consulting into the extent of reporting on scope 3.6 emissions and corporates' plans to reduce them.

The Paris-based consultancy¡¯s research showed that although 62 per cent of the companies it investigated publicly report on their scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, only 37 per cent specifically report their scope 3.6 business travel emissions. It also noted that a range of diverse methodologies are used to establish those figures. Areka assessed two years¡¯ worth of ESG and sustainability reports from the largest 150 companies in the world as identified by the Fortune 500.

¡°There is increasing global concern around climate change which is leading to growing expectations for organisations to disclose their environmental impact and their objectives in an open, credible and consistent way,¡± said the company¡¯s founding partner and CEO Pascal Jungfer.

Speaking on a webinar about the research, Areka consultant Jigyasa Nerchehal added: ¡°Climate disclosure is no longer just a choice for firms, it's a business imperative, and companies must be ready to not just comply with them [regulations], but also to lead by example.¡±

Areka¡¯s research found that companies in some sectors are more likely to report their business travel emissions than others, with the technology, media and telecoms sector and the automotive and transportation sector leading the way. Oil and gas companies were the least likely to publicly identify their scope 3.6 emissions, potentially because of their smaller contribution to those organisations¡¯ overall carbon footprint.

The proportion of a company¡¯s overall emissions that corporate travel accounts for is known to vary significantly by business sector, but the average among the 55 companies assessed by Areka ¨C a relatively small sample ¨C was just 0.26 per cent. It pointed out that business travel emissions for professional services providers, which did not feature among the 55 organisations declaring their scope 3.6 data, can be a considerably higher proportion of overall emissions (as high as 80 per cent in some cases, BTN research has found).

Using its own estimates and data from BTN¡¯s Corporate Travel 100, Areka found that business travel emissions as a percentage of overall emissions (0.26 per cent) corresponded closely with spending on business travel as a percentage of company revenue (0.29 per cent).

Its research also showed that 60 per cent of the 150 companies it examined have set net zero targets ¨C predominantly for 2050 ¨C and 51 per cent have specific scope reduction targets. However, business travel reduction targets are rarely mentioned, Areka found.?Where they are publicly noted, travel avoidance was identified as the primary lever for achieving them, followed by lower carbon travel options.