Setting up and understanding the Carbon Footprint report

In partnership with Squake, the carbon footprint report gives you access to a dashboard that allows you to view the CO2 Emissions generated per trip and download a CSV file for further analysis. The carbon footprint report is only available in the Standard plan.

1. Setting up the report

If you're ready to get started with the carbon footprint report, please contact our support team at support@trutrip.co or the chat. We'll help you run through the different calculation methods and set up the monthly report.

Every travel type can have a different CO2 calculation method. The methods we offer are based on industry standards (offered by Squake) and consider factors like distance, fuel consumption, and energy usage. 

Reach out to our team if you need help deciding which calculation method is right for you.

2. Receiving the CSV file

Until the web version is available, your CO2 report will be sent to you via email on a monthly basis, unless agreed differently with your TruTrip account manager.

3. Understanding the CSV file

When you receive the Carbon footprint CSV file it will look like this:

Every row will be either a leg of a flight, a hotel stay, or a train ride for one traveller. So this means that, if a flight booking has multiple legs (with a transit), every single flight will be in a separate row.

So if a booking has multiple travellers, with multiple flight legs, there can be multiple rows of CO2 data for that booking.

The columns in the CSV file in detail:

• Start date/end date - the start and end date of this booking (eg departure/arrival or check in / check out
• Origin/destination - the origin / destination code of the airports/train stations
• Booking ID 
• Trip details 
• Booking date
• Booking type - hotel/flight/train
• Vendor - the airline, train, or hotel vendor
• Fare class (flights only) - the fare basis code (for more advanced analyses)
• Traveler - name of the traveler
• No. rooms (accommodation only) - number of rooms in the booking
• No. nights (accommodation only) - number of nights in the booking
• Hotel stars
• Travel distance - the total distance travelled
• CO2 amount - the calculated amount of CO2 in the set unit
• CO2 unit - the calculation unit used (gram/kilogram)
• CO2 method - the calculation method used (more below)

If you have any questions or require further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact our support team at support@trutrip.co.

By understanding and utilizing our Carbon Footprint Report, you can take proactive steps to reduce your organization's environmental impact and contribute to a more sustainable future.

Appendix 1: The different calculation methods explained

Flights:

• DEFRA: The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is a UK government agency that sets standards and regulations for environmental protection. It primarily uses activity-based methods to calculate emissions, considering factors like aircraft type, distance traveled, and fuel consumption.
• SQUAKE: SQUAKE is a company that provides carbon calculation services for flights and other travel activities. They use a combination of activity-based and emission factor-based methods, incorporating data from various sources, including government agencies and industry associations.
• ADEME: The French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME) is a French government agency that promotes sustainable development. They use a combination of activity-based and emission factor-based methods, often relying on government-provided emission factors.
• ICAO: The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that sets standards for international civil aviation. They provide guidance on carbon emissions calculation methods, but do not directly calculate emissions.
• CO2 emissiefactoren NL: This Dutch database provides emission factors for various activities, including flights. It primarily uses emission factor-based methods.
• US EPA: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) is a federal agency tasked with protecting human health and the environment. They provide guidance on carbon emissions calculation methods and may also offer emissions factors for specific activities.
• TIM: TIM is a carbon footprint calculation tool that provides emissions estimates for various activities, including flights. It uses a combination of activity-based and emission factor-based methods, often relying on government-provided emission factors.
• Tim with Greenfare: This is a version of the TIM tool that incorporates emissions factors from Greenfare, a company that provides carbon footprint data. Greenfare's data is often based on industry-specific surveys and analysis.

Hotels:

• SQUAKE: As mentioned earlier, SQUAKE provides carbon calculation services for hotels. They use a combination of activity-based and emission factor-based methods, considering factors like hotel size, energy consumption, and location.
• BASIC: BASIC is a carbon footprint calculation method that considers factors like hotel size, energy consumption, and location. It primarily uses an activity-based approach.
• HCMI: The Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI) is an organization that develops standards and guidelines for measuring hotel carbon emissions. They provide guidance on calculation methods and may offer emissions factors.

Trains:

• DEFRA: As mentioned earlier, DEFRA sets standards for environmental protection. They use activity-based methods to calculate emissions for trains, considering factors like train type, distance traveled, and energy consumption.
• SQUAKE: SQUAKE provides carbon calculation services for trains as well. They use a combination of activity-based and emission factor-based methods, incorporating data from various sources.
• ADEME: ADEME uses a combination of activity-based and emission factor-based methods for train emissions, often relying on government-provided emission factors.