Rex says
Everyday utility math — the kind you'd otherwise pull up four browser tabs for. I keep it to one clean answer.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Total travel emissions
82.6
From flights
66.6
From hotel stays
16.00
Total flight segments
390
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How to use this
- 1Enter short-haul flights/yr (<500 mi).
- 2Enter medium-haul flights/yr (500-2000 mi).
- 3Enter long-haul flights/yr (>2000 mi).
- 4Enter share flown business/first class (%).
- 5Enter hotel nights per year.
- 6Read your total travel emissions on the right — it updates as you type.
- 7Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
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.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
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
Results
- Total travel emissions: 82.6
- From flights: 66.6
- From hotel stays: 16
- Total flight segments: 390
What each field means
Inputs
- Short-haul flights/yr (<500 mi)
- The short-haul flights/yr (<500 mi) used in the calculation. Starts at 200 so you have a working example on load.
- Medium-haul flights/yr (500-2000 mi)
- The medium-haul flights/yr (500-2000 mi) used in the calculation. Starts at 150 so you have a working example on load.
- Long-haul flights/yr (>2000 mi)
- The long-haul flights/yr (>2000 mi) used in the calculation. Starts at 40 so you have a working example on load.
- Share flown business/first class (%)
- The share flown business/first class used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 15 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–100 %.
- Hotel nights per year
- The hotel nights per year used in the calculation. Starts at 800 so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Total travel emissions
- Returned as a whole number and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- From flights
- Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- From hotel stays
- Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total flight segments
- Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why do short flights have a higher per-mile emissions factor?
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.
Why does business class roughly double or triple emissions per passenger?
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.
What's the most effective policy lever to cut this number?
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.
Accuracy and 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.
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Supply Chain Emissions Intensity Calculator
Emissions per dollar of spend by supplier category, spend-based method.
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Business Travel Emissions Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ghg-scope3-travel
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ghg-scope3-travel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Business Travel Emissions Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Business Travel Emissions Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/ghg-scope3-travel) (2026).