Intensifying climate disruption, evolving reporting requirements and greater scrutiny of environmental claims are pushing travel managers to think about resilience, data quality and credible climate action alongside emissions reduction.
Here are seven trends travel managers should prepare for in 2027 and what each one means for your program.
1. Climate risk is expanding the sustainable business travel brief
Corporate travel programs need climate adaptation alongside emissions reduction as physical climate risks intensify. IATA reports that weather-related delay rose from around 11% of total delay in 2012 to almost 30% in 2023, alongside an 18% year-over-year increase in European reports of large hail and heavy rain. In 2026, repeated heatwaves and drought fueled devastating wildfires in France and Spain, disrupting aviation. EUROCONTROL reported that July fires near Bordeaux’s air traffic control center reduced controller availability and delayed infrastructure repairs, generating around 85,000 minutes of delay.
Travel managers need to understand climate risks, such as route exposure and supplier continuity and plan for the potential impacts on traveler wellbeing, duty of care and communications.
What this means for travel managers
- Map critical routes, hubs and destinations against material climate risks.
- Ask priority suppliers how they manage physical climate risks and continuity.
- Connect sustainability planning with disruption response and duty-of-care protocols.
2. Corporate reporting regulations continue focus on high- quality data
Expanding sustainability reporting requirements across major markets bring Scope 3 business travel data into sharper focus. Under the revised CSRD, additional large EU companies enter scope for financial years beginning in 2027, with limited assurance required. Australia’s phased climate-reporting regime extends to further cohorts during 2026 and 2027, with independent checks expanding in scope and rigor over time. California SB 253 rules are being developed to introduce Scope 3 reporting in 2027, including business travel among the proposed initial categories. Specified UK listed companies will report against UK SRS S1 and S2 for periods beginning in 2027 on a comply-or-explain basis, although Scope 3 has transitional relief.
What this means for travel managers
- Assign ownership across travel, sustainability, finance, IT and audit.
- Document data sources, emissions factors, assumptions, exclusions and changes.
- Reconcile booking, payment, expense and supplier data where practical.
3. Greenwashing rules are raising the evidence bar
Since September 2026, the EU’s EmpCo Directive has raised the bar when it comes to evidencing environmental claims shown to EU consumers. The directive addresses misleading claims and sustainability labels that are not transparent or credible. Broad terms such as “greener” or “sustainable” need to give way to specific wording that explains the comparison, calculation method, boundary and limitations. The shift is already visible: after UK regulatory scrutiny of airline advertising, Lufthansa renamed its “Green Fare” as “Impact Fare,” saying the change reflected new requirements for environmental communication.
What this means for travel managers
- Review booking tools, policies and campaigns for greenwashing risk and require evidence for environmental wording.
- Check what supplier labels cover; who verifies them; and if they comply with the new regulation.
- Avoid all claims such as climate neutral / carbon neutral travel.
4. Ongoing emissions responsibility provides a new approach for investing in climate action
Launched in 2026, the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 introduces ongoing emissions responsibility: offering a framework to allow climate contributions to support verified climate action beyond companies’ own emissions-reduction targets to address emissions that continue during the transition to net zero. Companies can link these investments to business travel. By 2035, ongoing emissions responsibility will be mandatory for companies with science-based targets.
What this means for travel managers
- Engage with your company sustainability team to understand their strategy for ongoing emissions responsibility.
- Talk to your TMC to understand how climate contributions can be integrated into the travel program.
5. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) becomes a practical opportunity
SAF mandates and airline programs increase both pressure and opportunities for corporate travel buyers to participate. The EU and UK introduced 2% mandates in 2025, rising to 10% and 6% respectively by 2030. Singapore’s SAF levy begins for passenger, general aviation and business aviation departures in 2027. Signals also suggest SBTi and the EU are becoming more accepting of book-and-claim for claiming SAF reductions. Together, these changes strengthen the market signal for production and investment, making 2027 a practical year to engage with SAF, particularly for companies with 2030 targets.
What this means for travel managers
- Ask your TMC which SAF funding and procurement options can be integrated into your travel program.
- Align sustainability, finance, procurement and travel teams to understand precise requirements.
- Start with a targeted SAF pilot aligned with the organization’s Scope 3 goals.
BCD can help integrate SAF funding, procurement and reporting into your travel program, reducing the need for separate suppliers and processes.
6. Better rail content is making alternatives easier to find
Rail is a practical alternative to flying on suitable routes. BCD Travel’s 2025 survey of 681 business travelers found that two-thirds would choose rail when air and rail were viable and cost and journey time were similar; 18% expected to travel more by rail. Forthcoming EU proposals aim to simplify multimodal travel, making it easier to search, compare and book journeys across operators and transport modes. For corporate travel programs, better integrated ticketing, stronger passenger protections and improved visibility of lower-emission options are making rail and multimodal travel more practical.
Increased rail content in Tripsource® can help travelers find and compare more suitable options, while policy thresholds and disruption support remain important.
What this means for travel managers
- Identify high-volume routes with viable rail alternatives.
- Set a clear journey-time threshold and reasonable exceptions.
- Improve rail booking, disruption support and cross-border content.
7. AI becomes a sustainability enabler
As AI becomes embedded in how we live and work, it offers potential to turn complex data into actionable insights to optimize resources, reduce emissions, anticipate risks and accelerate the transition to more sustainable systems. For business travel this means identifying lower-emission options, supporting traveler nudges (such as shifting to rail) and targeting decisions with the greatest potential impact.
At a larger scale, contrail avoidance uses forecasts to help flight teams adjust routes or altitudes, reducing persistent condensation trails that can trap atmospheric heat. Google’s contrail-avoidance work with American Airlines demonstrate AI’s potential to reduce aviation’s climate effects beyond CO₂ emissions. Ethical, purposeful use of AI is essential to avoid wasting energy and resources.
What this means for travel managers
- Ask your TMC how it uses AI to support lower-emission travel decisions.
- Identify where AI could advance your organization’s sustainability goals, such as emissions analysis, traveler nudges or rail recommendations.
- Develop guidelines for the ethical use of AI in your travel program.
- Prioritize applications with measurable emissions impact, then track adoption, cost and traveler experience. Turn sustainability trends into choices that drive up the value of your travel program.
For 2027 planning, corporate travel managers can harness sustainability trends to improve decisions by connecting direct emissions reduction with climate resilience, assurance-ready reporting, disciplined environmental claims and carefully governed interventions.
Start by assessing the maturity of the travel program, strengthening emissions data and controls, reviewing policy and supplier choices, and selecting practical interventions suited to the organization’s routes, risk profile and reporting obligations. Rail, SAF, internal carbon charges and AI may all have a role, but none should outrun the evidence or distract from reducing avoidable emissions.
Ready to embed sustainability more effectively across your travel program?
Talk to our sustainability experts about BCD’s end-to-end solution to help reduce emissions, engage travelers, and meet climate goals with less complexity.
Key takeaways
- Connect emissions reduction with climate resilience and duty of care.
- Make Scope 3 travel data traceable, documented and reviewable.
- Use precise, evidenced environmental claims with clear boundaries.
- Govern residual emissions, SAF and book-and-claim arrangements carefully.
- Use rail and AI where route evidence and measured outcomes support them.