The UK’s Business Travel Association has called for “stricter” rules governing how carbon emissions are being offset for corporate travel.
The BTA said the UK government must take action to “prevent incorrect carbon emission calculations and unreliable offsetting activity” in its first environmental transparency report, entitled Carbon Offsetting: Beyond the Trees.
The association found there is currently no standardisation of carbon calculation from travel, with firms “ill-equipped” to accurately measure their carbon outputs, leading to the risk of “wrongly implemented” offsetting practices.
Clive Wratten, CEO of the BTA, said: “Too often carbon offsetting is relied upon as a method of environmental guilt mitigation. Offsetting alone is no longer good enough, and the narrative must change towards offsetting becoming a last resort to incite positive environmental outcomes.”
The BTA report also looks at the “credibility issues” faced by some carbon offset providers but adds that offsetting can still help corporates to achieve net-zero emissions if “implemented correctly with and via a reputable source”.
The study also explores a range of sustainability options and projects such as tree planting, rewilding, community initiatives, renewable energy and carbon capture.
“A focus on collaboration, reduction, reporting standardisation, clarity and stronger regulation must be prioritised as we move away from implementing offsetting as a first resort,” added Wratten in the report’s conclusion.
“To ensure this, our understanding of carbon offsetting needs to change. Carbon offsetting should not be implemented as a substitute for reduction, and the industry must prioritise focus on activities that reduce emissions over offsetting practices.”
The BTA’s next report will focus on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and is due to be released later this summer.