A net zero roadmap for travel & tourism

Call for change

Climate change is recognized as one of humankind’s greatest challenges. However, despite the increasing number of commitments to limit global warming to 1.5°C, governments and businesses have been slow to take meaningful action.

In the Travel & Tourism sector, the journey toward a net zero future has begun. However, the path varies widely across the sector’s industries.

Tackling climate change head-on as part of its mission to maximize the inclusive and sustainable growth potential of the sector, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) sought to provide climate guidance to its members and the industry worldwide. Against this background, WTTC decided to develop a roadmap, refining the sector narrative and decarbonization pathway, in the run-up to COP26.

WTTC joined forces with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Accenture and collaborated with key global Travel & Tourism representatives. The goal: to provide more transparency, guidance and recommendations on how to decarbonize.

When tech meets human ingenuity

Our Accenture team analyzed 250 public reports and conducted focus groups and interviews with experts from more than 60 companies across Travel & Tourism industries—accommodation, aviation, cruise, tour operators and travel intermediaries. Based on this research, we crafted an overview of the current state of the sector’s decarbonization commitments for the report.

With WTTC and UNEP, we defined a climate roadmap to accelerate the sector’s decarbonization journey. A target corridor framework suggests corridors for three clusters—easy to abate, medium to abate and hard to abate—with carbon reduction targets and milestones. An action framework offers a structured guide for getting started.

Together, we also developed a call to action for the private sector:

• Set the right baselines and emission targets now.
• Monitor and report progress.
• Collaborate within and across industries.
• Provide finance and investment for the transition.
• Raise awareness and build capacities on climate.

A valuable difference

The jointly developed report, A Net Zero Roadmap for Travel & Tourism, provides a comprehensive overview of existing climate action efforts in the sector and introduces a new target corridor framework. Further, the report provides a decarbonization action framework with four pillars:

1. Assess & Define: Carbon Inventory, Climate Targets, Materiality Assessment, Net Zero Strategy
2. Build & Enable: Leadership Involvement, Capacity Building, Finance & Budgeting, Governance & Steering
3. Reduce & Collaborate: Carbon Reduction, Partner Support, Carbon Compensation, Stakeholder Collaboration
4. Monitor & Report: Voluntary Disclosures, Data & Monitoring Capabilities, Progress Reporting

The report, which incorporates feedback from a wide range of peer reviewers, also lists tangible action items for each industry, with time horizons and potential impact.

With its new guidance and a toolkit to support Travel & Tourism companies on their decarbonization journey, WTTC is playing its part in addressing climate change. Plus, it is reinforcing the importance of collaboration across the sector to achieve 2050 net zero targets and help address this pressing global challenge.

Meet the team

Dr. Jesko-Philipp Neuenburg
Managing Director – Global Travel & Aviation Sustainability Lead
LinkedIn

Philipp Möller
Senior Manager – Accenture Strategy & Consulting, Travel