Trends in Europe v. North America

BTN and BTN Europe surveyed 200 travel managers from May 18 to May 30 to understand how business travel sustainability fit into their companies’ travel management priorities in 2023. The stats below compare and contrast three views of the data: North America-based travel managers, Europe-based travel managers and the total respondent base. The divergent results may largely be a product of the associated regulatory environment for each region in which corporations are (or are not yet, in the case of the U.S.) required to report in depth and to a specific standard about their carbon emissions—including Scope 3, which relates to business travel. The European Parliament expanded the existing Non-Financial Reporting Directive when it introduced the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which went into force on Jan. 5, 2023. Faster moving regulations in the European Union have driven deeper awareness of sustainable business practices there as compared to the U.S. That said, the U.S. will not go unaffected by emissions reporting regulations. The Securities and Exchange Commission has rules pending, and they are expected to be finalized this fall. CSRD will also touch U.S. companies with operations in Europe; follow the disclosure timeline for both EU and US directives illustrated below, followed by highlights of BTN's survey, comparing sustainable business travel initiatives in N. America and Europe.