Measuring Corporate Sustainability: The road to a greener future

Published: June 1, 2023

In 2021, organizations embarked on an extraordinary effort to set sustainability goals, reduce emissions, and focus on the well-being of the planet, employees, and customers. In 2022, climate change remained top of mind, especially with record-high temperatures reported globally throughout the summer.

While organizations have begun tackling their ambitious sustainability goals, there are concerns that many companies are not making “meaningful progress in delivering their ESG commitments.” The World Benchmarking Alliance, which is tracking the progress of 2,000 companies, has found that “most have no explicit sustainability goals, and among those that do, very few are on track to meet them.”

Some struggle to reconcile sustainability commitments with day- to-day operations and financial reporting, which creates a schism between social and sustainability benefits and financial goals. Harvard Business Review adds that “leaders must confront the contradictions—and embrace the synergies—between profit and societal benefits and make the bold changes needed to actually deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.”

A recent Uber for Business and Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) report found that 84% of corporate travel managers say that sustainability is at least “somewhat important” in the design of their company’s travel program, but only some (28%) are tracking sustainability efforts related to ground transportation.

84% of corporate travel managers say that sustainability is at least “somewhat important” in the design of their company’s travel program

Steps to sustainable success

For organizations that are looking to make meaningful progress, “being transparent and accountable is the first step in moving towards a more sustainable future,” says Andrew Kalinin, Global Sustainability Lead at Uber for Business. “That’s why more and more corporations are committing

to science-based targets and carbon- emissions reduction pledges.”

Over 1,700 global organizations, including Uber, have submitted concrete plans to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Science-based targets are tangible plans created to help organizations reduce emissions in line with Paris Agreement goals. SBTi also requires companies involved to disclose emissions annually for publication, ensuring accountability for emissions measurement.

Uber’s commitment to sustainability

In 2020, Uber made a bold commitment to become a zero-emission platform by 2040. “Uber’s ambition is to be the cleanest platform on Earth because we believe it’s the right thing to do for our consumers, our cities, and our business,” Kalinin says.

From Paris to Pittsburgh, Uber is working to advance sustainability around the world while being transparent about the current state of emissions, publishing an annual sustainability report, and reporting on electrification progress in Europe. Transparency is a key part of Uber’s climate plan, because being transparent about our climate impact each year means we’re accountable for improvement.

In Europe, sustainability measures are progressing quickly. New climate policy in the EU aims to bring an end to combustion engine car sales by 2035. “Smart city and national policies are in place to make EVs and charging infrastructure more affordable,” Kalinin explains, “which enables Uber to design strategic programs to encourage this transition and accelerate it even further.”

In the United States, Uber’s flagship partnership with Hertz aims to, by 2023, make 50,000 Tesla rentals available to drivers who use the Uber platform. More than 25,000 drivers have already joined the program.

Uber also offers low- or no-emission ride options to help companies lower their carbon footprint. Uber for Business clients can incorporate greener ground transportation into their corporate business travel programs by encouraging their employees to select low-emission Uber products such as Uber Green and Uber Comfort Electric when they’re on the road.

At Uber, “we’re working hand in hand with policymakers, companies, and climate leaders around the world to scale best practices and advocate for win-win policies globally,” Kalinin says. Uber has already committed $800 million to help hundreds of thousands of drivers transition to EVs. In addition to providing more earning opportunities to drivers using greener and electric cars, Uber is also offering exclusive savings through partnerships with leaders in the battery EV and EV charging industries.

"Partnering with businesses like Uber . . . gives travel managers a deeper understanding of employee travel behavior. It also presents a new opportunity to educate travelers on the impact of responsible travel choices, which is an essential component when closely monitoring our progress toward net-zero emissions."

Jenny Sabineu Travel Services Manager, Salesforce

Measuring the impact of ground transportation

Many companies have set ambitious climate goals and want to better understand their carbon footprint. As Uber advocates for policy changes, invests in EV charging and technologies, and works to reduce emissions as a global organization, we’re also working to help those businesses be accountable for sustainability goals.

With sustainability insights available in the dashboard, Uber for Business clients have a clearer picture of their company’s sustainability progress. This includes the ability to track carbon-emissions data, see how frequently eco-friendly trips are utilized, and receive relevant updates and reports. These insights can help businesses understand their corporate-travel carbon footprint and, ultimately, help them reduce it.

Here’s how the reporting works:

In the dashboard, admins have a sustainability summary of all trips linked to a company’s Uber for Business account. This allows them to:

Measure CO₂ emissions

Review the number of low-emission trips employees and guests are taking

Understand and report more accurately on their corporate-travel carbon footprint

"Gaining visibility into one’s own carbon footprint is an excellent starting point. These insights will empower all of our global customers to track their carbon emissions over time, which gives them a full picture of their carbon footprint."

Andrew Kalinin
Global Sustainability Lead, Uber for Business

In the dashboard, admins have a sustainability summary of all trips linked to a company’s Uber for Business account. This allows them to measure CO2 emissions, review the number of low-emission trips employees and guests are taking, and understand and report more accurately on their corporate-travel carbon footprint.

It will also show the percentage of low-emission rides taken to help empower companies to track their use of options such as Uber Green and Uber Comfort Electric. Dashboard metrics will include:

Total low-emission trips:

Includes the total number of trips taken with Uber Green and Uber Comfort Electric by an Uber for Business user in a given time frame (for Latin America, also includes Uber Planet).

Low-emission trip percentage:

View the proportion of low-emission trips to total trips taken by the customer to quickly gauge how many trips align with climate commitments.

Total emissions (kgCO₂):

Total number of CO2

emissions produced by a company across all rides taken in a given time frame, expressed in kgs.

Average gCO₂ emissions/mile:

Total emissions divided by total distance (miles) in a given time, expressed as gCO2 per mile. Analyze carbon-emission performance based on distance traveled.

Graph: total emissions & average gCO₂/mile:

Easily observe carbon emissions over time and evaluate progress toward near- and long-term targets.

Moving beyond measurement

Beyond setting goals, it’s important for organizations to remain accountable as time goes on. Uber for Business is proud to serve as a climate and sustainability partner for our clients around the world, and we’re just getting started. “These insights are all about establishing the foundations upon which we will build in the future,” Kalinin says. “We plan to further improve the granularity of data available, work on including additional data points and views, and focus on deeper insights and suggestions that can help clients reduce their carbon footprint.”

At the moment, the best way to reduce one’s carbon footprint is to take more low-emission rides. As a next step, it’s important for organizations to educate employees on the importance of more sustainable ground transportation and encourage [them] to use it whenever appropriate.

Andrew Kalinin

Global Sustainability Lead, Uber for Business