Calculate emissions
In order to support the tourism industry in achieving the Paris climate targets, an important first step is to create calculation standards that are as uniform as possible to measure emissions in the tourism industry and make them comparable. The second step is to collect data, calculate it and make it available to the industry in the form of climate footprints. We do this with the help of our emissions data platform.
This ensures the necessary transparency with regard to climate-damaging emissions in tourism and provides a solid foundation for projects and measures to reduce emissions.
Publicly and transparently presented, the climate footprint serves to identify lower-emission travel products, enabling travel advisors to provide more targeted advice and consumers to make more climate-conscious travel decisions.
Calculate the climate footprint of your trip
For the tourism industry we give free access to interested parties to our B2B Frontend to calculate emissions. Access will be granted by registration. Please send an e-mail to: info@klimalink.orgIf you have already registered you can access the B2B Frontend via our member login (at the very top on the left).
Our calculation standards
The desire for a uniform calculation of climate-damaging emissions has increased significantly in the industry and business travellers and holidaymakers are increasingly asking about the actual climate footprint caused by their trips. In addition, the EU CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) is becoming relevant for more and more companies and travel emissions are mandatory as part of reporting.
There are already various methods for calculating greenhouse gas emissions in tourism. However, these do not delimit the CO2e emissions in a standardized way and determine the emissions using different approaches and accuracies. The aim of KlimaLink is to make CO2e emissions available to all users in the industry on the basis of a uniform calculation standard (consisting of various methods).
To this end, the KlimaLink standards for individual travel components are developed in working groups consisting of experts from our member and the scientific community and are based on the following criteria:
- CO2e emissions are recorded systematically and with a high degree of accuracy.
- The CO2e emissions of different service providers (flight, hotel, car, bus, etc.) can be compared and categorized.
- The calculations are accurate enough to show travellers options for reducing climate emissions even before they book.
- The calculations are accurate enough to compare combined travel products of different types on the basis of absolute CO2e emissions.
- The various methods are based entirely on travel input data that is available to the travel industry as standard in the systems of tour operators and travel agents.
- The standard provides a unique CO2e value for each input of travel components worldwide. To this end, the individual methods specify fallback hierarchies that require less and less specific input data in descending tiers (method variants) in order to always deliver the best result under the circumstances.
There is already agreement on the calculation method for flights, rail, bus/car and hotels. Calculation standards for other components will follow until all travel components can be covered.
- Flight
- Hotel
- Car
- Rail (2027)
- Bus
- Holiday homes
The emissions calculation for the KlimaLink standard is based on specific emissions values that a travel service generated in the past. If no such specific values exist, the most accurate average values possible are used. The data is collected, verified and provided by our partner company, the climate protection organization atmosfair.
In doing so, the KlimaLink standard takes into account, as far as possible, the destination and departure point, the expected occupancy rate, selected booking classes and model specifications for aircraft or other means of transport. Despite this claim of the most accurate calculation possible, the KlimaLink standard can only provide an approximation of the actual emission value, which may be subject to significant deviations in individual cases, and therefore serves only as a rough guide. The correct calculation of CO2e emissions is scientifically controversial and can lead to different results depending on the calculation method. In this sense, the KlimaLink standard offers only one of many possible calculation methods. You can find more about the standard and the currently available calculation methods for flights and hotels here:
- Flight calculation standard
- Flight graph calculation factors
- Hotel calculation standard
- Hotel graph calculation factors
- Car calculation standard
- Bus calculation standard
Presentation of the climate footprints at the point of sale
KlimaLink e.V. commissioned the law firm SKW Schwarz to prepare an expert report on the presentation of the carbon footprints of individual travel components and bundled travel services in sales channels. This analyzed the risks of presenting climate footprints using a CO2e emission value and derived recommendations for action and disclaimers for members and other users.
The result is a guideline for communicating and presenting the CO2 emission equivalents calculated ex ante by KlimaLink (hereinafter referred to as "CO2e"), which is illustrated using a climate footprint pictogram and which is being used in sales channels for individual or packaged travel services.
The use of climate footprints is subject to conditions and is possible under the following summarized rules:
1. No alteration of the CO₂e value or, where used, the pictogram
2. If used: Do not incorporate the CO₂e value into the pictogram
3. If used: Use the pictogram only in such a way that it serves as a descriptive indication of the meaning of the CO₂e value (visual language) (this is generally fulfilled if the pictogram is simply displayed next to, in front of or above the value, like a table caption)
4. Observe additional requirements for rankings, where applicable
5. Use a disclaimer
6. Use a separate disclaimer for the ‘climate budget’
7. Have your own presentation reviewed for legal compliance on a case-by-case basis
Please contact KlimaLink for the full report and detailed recommendations for action at info@klimalink.org. Disclaimers and best practice can be obtained from our Styleguide.