On World Earth Day, global travel-tech leader Flix issues its second voluntary ESG report disclosing its near-term goals for emissions reduction, while highlighting the environmental benefits of collective travel.
With more than 81 million passengers in 2023, the company drives sustainable and affordable travel for all with a holistic ESG strategy at the core of its business. Following the Science Based Target initiative’s (SBTi) validation of its near-term emissions reduction targets and having achieved meaningful progress in the past year, Flix looks to the future with confidence.
«We are committed to transforming long-distance travel globally. With eleven years of experience as a global travel-tech company reshaping the sector with a steady vision, we aim to be a driving force towards a sustainable future. Sustainability will remain the guiding principle along this path, with focus on safeguarding the environment and creating value for our stakeholders and the communities we serve», commented André Schwämmlein, CEO and Co-Founder of Flix.
Flix-analysis quantifies emissions benefit of collective travel
Collective transport represents a key lever to make travel more sustainable. To quantify this benefit, Flix compared emissions of several modes of transport and calculated resounding savings of CO2-emission per passenger kilometer over the past year. According to this analysis, over 1 million tonnes CO2 were avoided in 2023 alone thanks to travelers choosing Flix services over other modes of transport, like a car or plane.
While passengers changing their approach to travel and embracing collective transportation plays a crucial role, operators also have a duty to support this transition by enabling people to travel more easily, especially across poorly connected regions. Acknowledging this, in 2023, Flix provided regular connections across more than 5,600 destinations on four continents, a third of which with populations of fewer than 20,000 inhabitants.
Flix’s near-term goals for emissions reduction validated by SBTi
As part of its decarbonization strategy, Flix is committed to achieving carbon-neutral operations in Europe by 2040 and globally by 2050. The company established near-term targets for emissions reduction with the Science Based Targets initiative to assess its progress within a scientifically recognized framework. The SBTi provides companies with the guidance to set greenhouse gas reduction targets to fight climate change and aim for net-zero emissions by 2050.
The SBTi has validated Flix’s near-term targets, thus acknowledging that its strategy is in line with global climate goals.
By 2032, Flix has set the target to reduce its absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 54.6%. This includes greenhouse gas emissions directly and indirectly generated by Flix, associated with the consumption of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling, and with the fuel consumption of its own fleet. Additionally, Flix aims to reduce its Scope 3 emissions by 40.9%, which includes emissions generated by its partners’ fleets per passenger kilometer.
Sustainability beyond environmental protection
On Earth Day, Flix released its second voluntary ESG report, providing an overview on actions carried out in 2023 towards ensuring sustainable growth in its day-to-day business.
Along with the areas typically referred to within this framework – those of Environment, People, and Governance – Travel represents another fundamental pillar of its strategy, focusing on its partners’ fleet transformation through new energy sources and technologies, as well as intelligent, tech-driven network planning to enable optimum connectivity across its network.
Together with over 1 million tonnes CO2 avoided thanks to travelers choosing Flix over other modes of transport, another key indicator of Flix’s environmental performance is the fact that almost all Flix-coaches (98%) in Europe are equipped with the latest EURO VI efficiency standard. Regarding Flix’s social performance, key figures include 44% female new hires in 2023 and a global company employee eNPS of 37, ten points above the tech industry benchmark. Regarding safety, Flix’s Safety Management System remains an effective reference scheme comprising several measures from driving and resting times to safety proceedings. Regarding governance, in 2023, Flix significantly increased the number of women in its Supervisory Board, today representing 25% of its members.
