Spanish companies make progress in corporate travel sustainability, but demand more accurate data

The 2nd edition of the whitepaper "ESG Roadmap for Business Travel," prepared by Forum Business Travel & Events in collaboration with Lufthansa Group, confirms the consolidation of sustainable policies in organizations, although inequalities persist between sectors and gaps in the traceability of information, especially in accommodation and ground transportation.

Sustainability has ceased to be a reputational element to become a real management criterion in corporate travel. This is confirmed by the second edition of the study “ESG Roadmap for Corporate Travel”, presented by Forum Business Travel & Events with the collaboration of Lufthansa Group;Lufthansa Group, which analyzes the degree of maturity and application of environmental, social and governance criteria in the business travel policy of Spanish companies.

The report reveals that 69% of companies already have specific targets for reducing emissions, a figure that confirms the upward trend of recent years and the consolidation of a more conscious governance. top management emerges as the main driving force (27.7%), followed by regulatory compliance and adaptation to the CSRD Directive, which introduces new sustainability reporting obligations for large European corporations.

Although the will is clear, progress remains uneven. The air transport continues to be the area where most carbon footprint information is handled, but its coverage has dropped from 85% to 69%, which points to difficulties in the consistency of the data, both due to changes in suppliers and bookings outside official channels or non-harmonized methodologies. In contrast, there is an improvement in the availability of data for train, rental car and VTC, while hotel remains the big blind spot: barely 4% of companies currently obtain reliable information on emissions in their overnight stays.

The incorporation of ESG criteria into corporate travel policy has lost some traction compared to the previous edition: less than half of the companies have modified their internal regulations to introduce sustainability variables, and only one in ten consider these criteria to be a high priority in negotiations with suppliers. The pressure of price and the lack of comparable metrics continue to hold back decisions that, although desirable, are difficult to justify in tight cost environments.

Another major challenge identified is the lack of operational information prior to purchase. Only 40% of companies have CO? data visible in their booking tools (OBT) before confirming a trip, while more than half lack this option. Similarly, the internal cost of carbon, an effective tool for translating environmental impact into economic decision-making, is barely implemented in 7% of organizations.

However, the qualitative part of the study —based on interviews with travel managers and mobility managers— reflects a more nuanced and hopeful vision. The managers consulted agree that ESG has become more transversally integrated into corporate policies and that the process of measuring, raising awareness and adjusting habits is in full expansion. Three years ago we talked about sustainability as something external, almost voluntary. Today it is part of the day-to-day business and performance objectives," says one of the executives interviewed.

Many travel managers acknowledge that the focus has shifted from compensation to actual reduction, with decarbonization plans that prioritize modal shift, route optimization or the use of suppliers with SAF (sustainable aviation fuels) programs. Others highlight the importance of digital tools for consolidating dispersed data, detecting redundant trips or grouping trips by teams, a field where artificial intelligence is beginning to play a relevant role. It is no longer a question of banning trips, but of managing them more intelligently," said another participant.

The study also highlights the structural constraints that companies still face, such as the lack of rail alternatives on certain routes, the difficulty of measuring the impact of accommodation and the dispersion of information when contracting services outside the corporate channel.

However, the interviewees value positively the increasing awareness of travelers and the improvement in internal communication. More and more employees are asking about the impact of their travel and looking for cleaner alternatives. That helps to accelerate change from within," says another travel manager from a multinational technology company.

The overall conclusion is that the commitment is there, but there is a lack of traceability. Companies are more prepared, but they need more complete and comparable data to make informed decisions and measure their progress. They also demand greater supplier involvement, especially in hospitality, and more seamless integration between booking tools, reporting systems and corporate ESG indicators.

From Forum Business Travel & Events they stress that “decarbonizationón of Business Travel is no longer a reputational aspiration, but a management requirementón. Management and regulation are pushing, but the data gap and consistency between price and sustainability remain to be resolved. For its part, Lufthansa Group stresses the importance of providing “visible and comparable emissions information before booking” and of continuing to foster collaboration between companies, agencies and suppliers to scale up good practices.