Travel sustainability is about finding the right balance between environmental responsibility and achieving your mission. Whether you are supporting communities, advancing research, delivering humanitarian assistance or growing a purpose-led business, we understand that travelling less is not always an option.
Through our KeyStone Responsible Travel Programme, we combine specialist expertise, technology, practical guidance and ongoing account management to help you measure and reduce travel emissions, support traveller wellbeing and embed responsible travel practices across your organisation.
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Introducing KeyStone: Our Responsible Travel Programme
Three pillars. Nine practices. One purpose.
Sustainable travel is about more than reducing emissions. It is also about protecting your people, making responsible choices and ensuring your travel policies reflect your organisation's values.
That is why we developed KeyStone, our structured Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) programme, designed to help organisations turn their responsible travel commitments into measurable action.
KeyStone brings together nine practical areas across three interconnected pillars:
- Planet: Understand, measure and reduce the environmental impact of your travel.
- People: Encourage responsible travel choices, support traveller wellbeing and promote positive social impact.
- Principles: Build responsible travel into your policies, approvals and risk management processes.
Planet: Understand and Reduce Your Environmental Impact
Measure travel emissions, identify opportunities for improvement and make more informed choices. Our exclusive TreadLighter™ Sustainability Assessment, developed in collaboration with WWF-UK, scores your travel programme across ten sustainability themes and identifies clear priorities for improvement. Combined with carbon visibility, Scope 3 reporting and a tailored Climate Action Plan, it helps you set targets and track your progress.
People: Support Responsible Travel and Positive Social Impact
Sustainability is about people as well as the planet.
We help organisations encourage responsible travel choices, understand how travel affects employee wellbeing and explore opportunities to support wider social responsibility commitments.
Principles: Turn Commitments into Everyday Practice
Turn commitments into action through responsible travel policies and booking approvals. Our exclusive RiskReady™ Travel Risk Review assesses your travel risk management approach against ISO 31030 guidance, identifying opportunities to strengthen traveller safety and duty of care. In addition, we help you strengthen travel policies, align booking approvals with your objectives and drive overall improvements in duty of care.
From Commitment to Measurable Progress
KeyStone supports continual improvement. Working with your Key Travel Account Manager, we help you assess your current travel programme, agree realistic actions, engage your travellers and review progress through regular reporting and reassessments.
Whether you are just beginning your sustainability journey or looking to strengthen an established programme, our approach is designed around your organisation's needs and the work you do, we are there to support you through your entire journey.
Our commitment to sustainability
We believe responsible travel starts with leading by example. Having achieved CO2 neutrality in 2021, we are now committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050 across Scopes 1, 2 and 3, reducing our carbon footprint year on year through efficiency, innovation and collaboration.
Key Travel is ISO 14001 certified and achieved a 93/100 ESG score in 2026, receiving a Leader rating in an independent assessment (well ahead of sector benchmarks) and scoring 100% in the Environment category.
We measure our global carbon footprint monthly across GHG emission categories and report progress quarterly through a specialist carbon data and sustainability partner. This enables transparent monitoring, identifies reduction opportunities, and helps inform decision-making across the business. We embed sustainability into every aspect of our operations through our Environmental and Sustainability Policy, Corporate Social Responsibility Audit, and ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.
Frequently Asked Questions About Travel Sustainability
What is travel sustainability?
Travel sustainability involves reducing the environmental impact of organisational travel while considering its wider social and economic effects. It includes measuring and reducing carbon emissions, choosing lower-emission transport, creating responsible travel policies, supporting traveller wellbeing and making decisions that align with an organisation's values and objectives.
How can organisations reduce business travel emissions without reducing essential travel?
Organisations can reduce business travel emissions by improving journey planning, combining trips, choosing rail instead of air where practical, comparing flight emissions, reviewing travel policies and encouraging lower-carbon booking decisions. Carbon reporting and measurable reduction targets help identify opportunities and monitor progress while maintaining essential activities.
What are Scope 3 business travel emissions?
Scope 3 business travel emissions are indirect greenhouse gas emissions generated by travel undertaken for an organisation's activities using transport and services it does not own or control. Under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, business travel is included in Scope 3 Category 6. Measuring these emissions helps organisations understand their travel footprint, identify reduction opportunities and support sustainability reporting.
What is KeyStone by Key Travel?
KeyStone is Key Travel's responsible travel and ESG programme, developed to help organisations improve the environmental, social and governance performance of their travel programmes. It combines nine practical areas across three pillars: Planet, People and Principles. These include sustainability assessments, carbon reporting, reduction planning, traveller engagement, wellbeing, social value, responsible travel policies, approval processes and travel risk management.
How does Key Travel help organisations measure and reduce travel emissions?
Key Travel provides emissions information during booking, carbon reporting and analysis to help organisations understand their travel footprint. Through KeyStone, we also support sustainability assessments, Climate Action Plans, lower-carbon travel decisions, policy improvements and ongoing progress reviews. Available reporting capabilities vary by booking platform and customer programme.
How can a sustainable travel policy help reduce emissions?
A sustainable travel policy provides clear guidance on when travel is necessary, which transport options should be considered and how sustainability factors should influence bookings. Policies can include rail-first thresholds, carbon budgets, approval processes and guidance on virtual meetings. When supported by booking technology, employee engagement and regular reporting, they can help organisations put sustainability commitments into practice.
Can more sustainable business travel also save money?
Yes. Some sustainable travel measures can reduce costs as well as emissions. Combining journeys, avoiding unnecessary travel, booking earlier and using rail where appropriate can all provide financial benefits. However, lower-carbon options are not always cheaper, so organisations should assess emissions, total journey cost, travel time and operational needs together.
Do you have any practical steps organisations can take for improved travel sustainability?
Yes. Take a look at our blog "Practical Steps Organisations Can Take For Improved Travel Sustainability"
Let's make every journey count.