Sheet 1: Intro & Instructions

	
	

		
Business Travel Carbon Footprint Estimator
	
	

		
Do you know the carbon footprint of your business travel?
	
	

		
In order to better manage carbon emissions due to business travel, estimating your overall carbon footprint is a key step on the journey to sustainability. It can provide the information necessary for prioritizing and adopting options that are more sustainable, and addressing emissions hotspots within your overall travel footprint. 
	
	

		
Using the business travel Carbon Footprint Estimator
	
	

		
This Carbon Footprint Estimator has been designed as a simplified self-assessment to estimate the total carbon footprint of your business travel. To increase the accuracy of the estimate, referring to your actual  travel data would be ideal. Since the calculation methodology is based on a simplified version of the UK Government’s GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting, the final results will provide a solid estimate to better understand the magnitude of your business travel footprint – especially if it is the first time you have performed such calculations.
For those travel managers who have adopted numerous sustainable travel practices, or who have very detailed business travel data and reporting capabilities, it would be worth considering investing in a more refined calculation to  prove and quantify the benefits of your sustainable business travel policies. If you would appreciate a deeper dive, please feel free to reach out to a Zurich business travel representative. 
	
	

		
Estimating carbon emissions from air travel
	
	

		
Air travel is typically the largest contributor to business travel emissions, since flying uses a lot of fuel to move people very quickly. Short-haul flights create more carbon emissions per kilometer traveled because the greater part of a flight's emissions occur on take-off. Additionally, the seat class affects the carbon emissions per kilometer traveled, because an economy-class seat takes up less space per person traveling than does a business-class or first-class seat. 
Definitions
Short haul: up to 3700km distance
Long haul: over 3700km distance 
	
	

		
Estimating carbon emissions from car travel
	
	

		
Car travel can also be a significant source of carbon emissions, especially for firms regularly renting vehicles for traveling between office locations, or key customer site visits. The type of engine and size of car each  play an important role in the carbon emissions per kilometer traveled. It is important to note that you should only consider car usage for longer travel purposes, rather than daily usage to support the company’s typical operations or commuting.  
Definitions
Small car: Petrol up to 1.4-litre engine, Diesel up to 1.7-litre engine, Others – vehicle models of a similar size (i.e. market segment A or B)
Medium car: Petrol from 1.4-litre to 2.0-litre engine, Diesel from 1.7-litre engine to 2.0-litre engine, Others – vehicle models of a similar size (i.e. generally, market segment C)
Large car: Petrol 2.0-litre engine+, Diesel 2.0-litre engine+, Others – vehicle models of a similar size (i.e. generally, market segment D and above)
	
	

		
Estimating carbon emissions from rail travel
	
	

		
Carbon emissions from rail travel are anywhere from 75% to >90% lower than that of air travel. Since the carbon emissions of rail transport depends mostly on the typical technology used in a given country, however, it is important to consider the proportion of train travel using diesel or electric power. 
Making this differentiation in the Carbon Footprint Estimator tool is important to get a more accurate estimate. It is also important to consider that longer international train journeys are typically the most efficient, and that in Europe the difference can be quite large. 
For rail travel outside of Europe, it is better to use the selection ‘National – Mainly Diesel’ unless travel was near the large cities of Asia, for which the ‘Mainly Electric’ option would be more accurate. 
	
	

		
Considering the 'price' of carbon emissions and the cost of going carbon-neutral with travel
	
	

		
Carbon emissions do create a typically 'un-priced' cost to society, as pollution and the key contributor to climate change. As a result, more companies are looking to offset these emissions through the purchasing of Carbon Offset Credits as compensation to remove carbon from the atmosphere at another geographical location. The price for offsetting is variable – anywhere from a few euro up to well beyond 100 euro per metric tonne of carbon – with quality and reliability typically reflected in the price of offsetting. 
If you are interested in understanding what it would cost your company in adopting a carbon-neutral travel policy, you can input the appropriate price of Carbon Offset Credits.
	
	

		
About the Carbon Footprint Estimator tool
	
	

		
This tool is for informational purposes only and results should not be considered a definitive carbon footprint calculation, especially for companies looking to formally disclose these figures externally, or which are mandated according to local regulations. All calculations are based on the CO2 equivalent calculations in metric system units, such as kilometers and metric tonnes, and are based on open-source data available from the UK Government’s GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting.
	
	

		


	
	

		

This document has been prepared by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd and the opinions 
expressed therein are those of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd as of the date of the release 
and are subject to change without notice. This document has been produced solely for 
informational purposes. All information contained in this document has been compiled 
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The subject matter of this document is also not tied to any specific insurance product nor 
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