Dive Brief:

• American Express Global Business Travel, which provides corporate travel management services, launched an emissions-based carbon pricing tool last week that may help business travelers calculate their carbon footprint and direct investments toward sustainability initiatives.
• The travel software company, in which American Express holds a minority ownership stake, said the tool will allow users to select a carbon calculation methodology from those offered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, International Air Transport Association and CO2 Connect, among others, to price the carbon emissions generated during their travel. 
• Companies can get an invoice with the calculated “carbon fee,” informing corporations about their impact, helping corporations calculate their employees’ carbon impact and giving them the option to put the funding earned toward decarbonization programs, Amex GBT said in the Jan. 21 release.

Dive Insight:

Amex GBT — which operates separately from the card company — said the carbon pricing tool also allows users to pick calculation methodologies from the International Civil Aviation Organization, French Agence de l’Environement et de la Maitrise de l’Energie, U.K. Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy and the U.K. Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.

However, the travel company noted in last week’s release that every company should make its own decision about what methodology best suits its “internal policies and procedures and any applicable laws and regulations.”

The New York City-headquartered company also said aligning carbon pricing with the emissions generated by a specific traveler or employee’s flight at the time of sale can boost employee engagement and “incentivize more sustainable economic decisions.”

“Carbon pricing is a proven mechanism that can help companies make progress towards their sustainability objectives,” Amex GBT Senior Vice President of Product and Engineering John Sturino said in the release. He added that the company’s software “can now help customers place a price on carbon and direct investment toward lower-carbon solutions, empowering them to make more informed decisions and address their carbon footprint.”

Amex GBT said the calculated carbon fees can be used to create a fund that supports green initiatives, such as sustainable aviation fuel, electric vehicles, research and development and other decarbonization projects.

The United Nations describes carbon pricing as a mechanism that “curbs greenhouse gas emissions by placing a fee on emitting and/or offering an incentive for emitting less.” This pricing system then can then lead to a shift in consumer consumption and investment decisions and, ultimately, allow economic development to be compatible with climate protection.

The UN also said carbon pricing “spurs investment and innovation in clean technology” by increasing the relative cost of using carbon-intensive technology. The mechanism also helps promote UN sustainability goals as it funnels financing toward initiatives and projects.

“Carbon pricing by way of business travel can help shift companies — and the aviation industry at large — towards a more sustainable future,” Amex GBT’s vice president of global sustainability, Nora Lovell Marchant, said in the release.