Beyond the Balance Sheet – Financial Services Guide

In the guide, we cover:

• The role of commuting in improving access to work and supporting talent

• Why commuting matters and its role within Scope 3 emissions

• The stakeholder, regulatory and market pressures shaping action

• How commuting is currently measured and reported across the sector

• The challenges organisations face in reducing commuting emissions

• How to use data to inform decision-making and investment

• Opportunities to optimise estates, parking and site strategy

Why Commuting Matters

Indirect emissions across the value chain make up a large share of a financial organisation’s carbon footprint, including those generated by employees travelling to and from work. These emissions increase significantly in organisations with larger workforces and are among the categories that can be measured and influenced relatively easily.

Financial institutions can help shape travel behaviour through policies, communications and incentives. Despite this, sustainable commuting remains underrepresented in public disclosures and corporate strategy across much of the sector.

Stakeholders & Market Pressures

The UK financial sector operates in a complex sustainability environment, shaped by both regulation and growing expectations from investors, customers and employees to act responsibly. Many organisations must report their carbon emissions or explain any omissions, which reflects a wider push for greater transparency.

Across banking, insurance and asset management, commuting is generally not measured consistently. It is rarely supported by targeted initiatives and is often grouped into wider Scope 3 reporting. This reduces visibility and limits action, highlighting the need for more focused approaches, as explored in our guide.

Overcoming Commuting Challenges

The quality of commuting data is critical for robust and accurate carbon emissions reporting. Many organisations use estimates and averages, which do not provide full transparency or insight into emission sources. Gaining regular, accurate commuting data enables organisations to understand how employees travel, identify potential for modal shift and support effective operational decision-making.

Moving staff away from driving alone to work reduces pressure on parking space provision and creates the opportunity to reduce parking costs or use land for alternative purposes. Providing affordable access to work can help attract talent and retain staff, particularly where commuting costs and limited options pose barriers.

Sustainable commuting is a behaviour-change challenge supported by data, policy and ongoing engagement.

Benefits of a Sustainable Commuting Strategy

• Report-ready data to support disclosure, audit and stakeholder requirements

• Lower parking demand, reducing estate costs and freeing up land

• Reduced Scope 3 emissions and progress towards net zero commitments

• Improved access to work, supporting recruitment and retention

• Stronger alignment between sustainability commitments and day-to-day operations