Last year, business travel approached pre-pandemic levels but lagged behind leisure travel as geopolitical conflicts and a slower rebound in key markets hampered a full recovery.
Emissions from corporate flights by 26 major tech companies analysed by Travel Smart, a campaign led by Transport & Environment (T&E), fell by an average of 49% in 2023, it found.
While this shows many tech companies are on the right track, only seven have set specific reduction targets that are essential to keeping commercial flight numbers under control, T&E said.
Alphabet, which has not set an emissions reduction target, and Apple, which set a broader target, are slowly returning to 2019 levels, T&E said.
Both were among the worst performers, with corporate travel emissions reductions of just 23% and 31% by 2023, respectively.
“How can[Google CEO]Sundar Pichai say Google is moving towards a sustainable future when its travel emissions are going in the wrong direction?” asked Denise Auclair, corporate travel manager at T&E.
Microsoft, IBM and SAP, despite significant cuts, are also at risk as they are among the biggest flight-takers without setting reduction targets, T&E said.
“Tech companies have long claimed to be climate leaders and many have substantially reduced emissions from business travel, but if they want to be credible they must set reduction targets,” Auclair added.
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Asked about its performance, Apple said it has already reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 55% since 2015 as part of its goal to become carbon neutral by 2030.
“We’re achieving this by making reductions across our entire carbon footprint, including business travel, and implementing significant cuts in the largest sources of our emissions,” an Apple spokesman told Reuters.
Other companies were not immediately available for comment.
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