{
  "slug": "ghg-scope3-travel",
  "title": "Business Travel Emissions Calculator",
  "heading": "Scope 3 Business Travel Emissions Calculator",
  "category": "other",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ghg-scope3-travel",
  "summary": "Flight and hotel emissions from your company's travel program.",
  "description": "Business travel is GHG Protocol Scope 3 Category 6, and for professional services, consulting, and sales-heavy organizations it's frequently a top-three emissions category. This calculator estimates emissions from flight segments split by haul length (short, medium, long) since per-mile emission factors differ meaningfully by distance — short flights carry a higher per-mile footprint because takeoff and climb burn disproportionate fuel relative to a short cruise phase. It adds hotel-night emissions using an industry-average per-night factor. Companies use this for CDP Category 6 disclosure and to model the emissions impact of a travel policy change, like requiring economy class on flights under a certain duration (business class seats take up more space and mass per passenger, roughly doubling or tripling the per-passenger emissions allocation) or setting a video-call-first policy for internal meetings.",
  "formula": "Flight emissions = Σ(segments × distance × per-mile factor by haul length × class multiplier). Hotel emissions = nights × per-night factor.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=ghg-scope3-travel",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "shortSegments",
      "label": "Short-haul flights/yr (<500 mi)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 200,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "mediumSegments",
      "label": "Medium-haul flights/yr (500-2000 mi)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 150,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "longSegments",
      "label": "Long-haul flights/yr (>2000 mi)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 40,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "businessPct",
      "label": "Share flown business/first class",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 15,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 100
    },
    {
      "id": "hotelNights",
      "label": "Hotel nights per year",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 800,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "totalTons",
      "label": "Total travel emissions",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "flightTons",
      "label": "From flights",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "hotelTons",
      "label": "From hotel stays",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "totalSegments",
      "label": "Total flight segments",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Short-haul flights/yr (<500 mi): 200",
      "Medium-haul flights/yr (500-2000 mi): 150",
      "Long-haul flights/yr (>2000 mi): 40",
      "Share flown business/first class: 15 %",
      "Hotel nights per year: 800"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Total travel emissions: 82.6",
      "From flights: 66.6",
      "From hotel stays: 16",
      "Total flight segments: 390"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter short-haul flights/yr (<500 mi).",
      "Enter medium-haul flights/yr (500-2000 mi).",
      "Enter long-haul flights/yr (>2000 mi).",
      "Enter share flown business/first class (%).",
      "Enter hotel nights per year.",
      "Read your total travel emissions on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "shortSegments": 120,
        "mediumSegments": 90,
        "longSegments": 25,
        "businessPct": 10,
        "hotelNights": 500
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "shortSegments": 200,
        "mediumSegments": 150,
        "longSegments": 40,
        "businessPct": 15,
        "hotelNights": 800
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "shortSegments": 320,
        "mediumSegments": 240,
        "longSegments": 65,
        "businessPct": 25,
        "hotelNights": 1300
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Estimates assume standard, average conditions — local rules, pricing, and materials vary.",
    "Results are rounded for readability; add a buffer before ordering, booking, or committing.",
    "Double-check anything with a real cost attached against a local quote."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Why do short flights have a higher per-mile emissions factor?",
      "a": "Takeoff and climb are the most fuel-intensive phases of flight and they're roughly fixed regardless of trip length, so a 300-mile flight burns disproportionately more fuel per mile than a 3,000-mile flight that spends most of its time in efficient cruise. This is why rail or driving alternatives matter most for short-haul routes specifically."
    },
    {
      "q": "Why does business class roughly double or triple emissions per passenger?",
      "a": "Airline emissions allocation methods (used by ICAO and most corporate travel carbon calculators) assign emissions based on the physical space and weight a seat occupies. Business and first-class seats take up 2-4x the cabin area of economy, so the standard allocation gives those passengers a proportionally larger share of the flight's total emissions."
    },
    {
      "q": "What's the most effective policy lever to cut this number?",
      "a": "Two levers move the needle most: shifting internal or regional meetings to video calls (cutting short-haul segment count directly) and setting an economy-class default for flights under 6 hours. Together these commonly cut travel emissions 20-35% without eliminating necessary client-facing or long-haul travel."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/employee-commute-emissions",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/scope1-2-emissions",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/supply-chain-emissions-intensity"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Business Travel Emissions Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ghg-scope3-travel)"
}