TravelPerk Unveils Emissions Data API

Global travel management platform TravelPerk has launched an open API to help companies measure their travel carbon footprint and manage emission reduction efforts.

TravelPerk’s GreenPerk API provides access to “granular, accurate data to get an understanding of their carbon footprint,” including air, rail, lodging and car hire, according to TravelPerk head of ESG and sustainability James Dent. The data take into account such factors as airline or aircraft type, whether rail travel was on diesel or electrified rail and car categories and fuel types, he said.

With that data, companies can more easily set targets and policies around carbon reduction, Dent said. It also allows for data aggregation, meaning companies that are working with different travel management companies can use it to view their carbon data within a single reporting network and framework.

Global engineering consultancy Ricardo Plc, one of TravelPerk’s clients that already has been using the API, has been able to consolidate data from its TMCs around the world, Dent said.

“Given that we operate in various geographies, and meeting with clients and suppliers is an essential part of our business model, GreenPerk API has been particularly useful for centralizing our [carbon dioxide] emissions data from travel into one source,” Ricardo head of global procurement Ian Smedley said in a statement. “We then develop this into insights and assess our progress against our approved science-based target.”

TravelPerk in 2020 launched its GreenPerk service, which lets companies pay to offset travel-related emissions with offset projects overseen by a climate mitigation specialist partner. In the future, TravelPerk will be able to add such options as purchasing sustainable aviation fuels, as they become more widely available.

Benchmarking capabilities for companies also is “something we’ve considered internally and that clients are very interested in,” Dent said.

Michael B. Baker www.businesstravelnews.com