Most SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) in the UK now have targets in place to reduce their emissions from business travel, according to a survey by rail booking specialist Trainline.

The poll of 500 business travel decision-makers found that 87 per cent of respondents currently had specified emissions reduction targets for business travel, compared with just 52 per cent in a similar survey conducted last year.

The Trainline study also revealed that around three-quarters of UK-based SMEs were expecting to increase their domestic business travel this year, with even more (79 per cent) forecasting higher travel budgets in 2025 compared with last year.

Most SMEs (85 per cent) now have “clear policy and financial support” to encourage their travellers to use lower carbon modes of transport. Part of this is being driven by new regulations requiring the measurement of emissions from travel, even if initiatives such as the EU’s CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) did not apply to firms of their size.

Around one-third of respondents said that increasing rail travel was “central” to their emissions reduction strategies.

The vast majority of firms working with travel management companies (89 per cent) added that receiving insights on emissions from their TMCs was crucial for managing and achieving sustainability targets.

Andrew Cruttenden, general manager at Trainline Partner Solutions, added: “Now that nine out of 10 businesses have established targets to cut their business travel emissions, it will be crucial they support their employees to prioritise lower carbon travel modes like rail.

“Given rail’s strong sustainability advantage over flying and driving, the onus is on the rail and business travel sectors to make train travel the seamless and natural choice.”