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Low Fares Have Hidden Carbon Costs

Most corporate travel policies are designed to reduce the cost of air travel, e.g., "Buy non-refundable economy-cabin tickets at least 14 days in advance."  

Unfortunately, these low-cost travel policies allow more tickets to be bought within budget.  This increases the carbon emitted from business trips compared to the emissions from higher-priced tickets.

This Excel file lets the user model their own assumptions about ticket prices and carbon emissions. One tab is designed for tickets purchased in the economy cabin; the other tab explores the impact of price and carbon intensity across economy, premium economy, and business class cabins.

Horizontal bar charts showing airfares associated with 6 common travel policies
Horizontal bar chart showing the carbon emissions associated with the same six travel policies as above

The Need For Long-sighted Travel Policies

Policies that focus on keeping travel costs low are short-sighted. Why? Because low travel prices make it easier to approve low-value trips and increase the number of trips taken.

We need long-sighted travel policies focused on yielding high-value, low-carbon business trips.

Read more in this Op-Ed in The Company Dime.

A rendition of a gray or silver coin next to the words "The Company Dime"
A headline says "Why we need to fly business class" dated August 9 2021
the business travel news logo "BTN" in a green box

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