Hemsley Fraser: Turning Business Travel into a Sustainability Opportunity

Hemsley Fraser is a leading education partner that helps organisations to activate the change that they need. Hemsley Fraser create, deliver and manage learning experiences for their clients that engage at all levels. They create, deliver, and manage learning experiences from leadership in business to project management and personal development.

The Challenge: Managing Business Travel Emissions Post-Pandemic

As Hemsley Fraser continues to grow as a consultancy firm, the team has identified a direct link between business growth and an increasing carbon footprint. One of the key drivers of this has been the rise in business travel. Since the shift back to in-person training post-COVID, more sessions are being delivered at client offices, leading to higher travel emissions.

With sustainability high on their agenda, Hemsley Fraser knew they needed to act. They were keen to put a clear, actionable carbon reduction plan in place, one that would allow the business to continue delivering for clients while also reducing its environmental impact.

“External feedback on our ISO 14001 recertification has recognised Hemsley as an example of best practice in environmental management. Our commitment to continual improvement is exemplified through our collaboration with the Carbon Neutral Group, whose expertise and innovative solutions have made our journey towards sustainability significantly easier and more effective.”  – Alyson Cooling – Head of Compliance & ESG

The Solution: A Carbon Budget and Tree Planting as Carbon Offsetting

To help action their carbon reduction plan, Hemsley Fraser partnered with Carbon Neutral Group to focus on a key area: business travel emissions.

The approach involved:

• Reviewing the previous year’s travel data and breaking it down by department to create a baseline
• Setting a carbon budget for each department with a targeted 5–7% reduction on last year’s emissions
• Rolling the budget out across selected departments to raise awareness and encourage more conscious travel decisions

To support this shift in behaviour, the plan includes:

• Quarterly reporting of travel emissions against each department’s budget
• A built-in consequence for exceeding the budget, teams that go over are required to contribute to carbon offsetting through tree planting, as part of Hemsley Fraser’s growing Corporate Forest

This strategy supports not only internal accountability but also provides a tangible way for teams to give back to the environment. By linking emissions to tree planting, the initiative reinforces the long-term impact of individual choices while helping the company reduce its overall carbon footprint.

Early Results: A Sustainable Path Forward

With the carbon budget system now in place, Hemsley Fraser has taken a significant first step in aligning business travel with their environmental goals. Teams are more conscious of the emissions linked to their meetings and travel decisions. The reporting process provides visibility, and the tree-planting scheme reinforces their long-term sustainability efforts.

As data continues to be collected, We will track progress and share future updates on the emissions reduced and the growth of their Corporate Forest.

Ready to Reduce Your Business Travel Emissions?

Whether you’re scaling operations or shifting back to in-person engagement, we can help you design a tailored carbon reduction strategy that fits your business. From carbon budgeting to offsetting through reforestation, we’ll work with you every step of the way.

Get in touch today to explore how your organisation can grow sustainably.

Back to case studies