2023 update of the ECB's environmental statement

At the start of 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect the daily operations of the ECB, as staff attendance at its premises was still impacted by travel restrictions, social distancing requirements and remote working practices. From May onwards, the restrictions and security requirements were gradually lifted, resulting in a larger number of ECB staff members returning to the offices or traveling for business compared with the previous years. To avoid a sharp increase in emissions following the pandemic, internal guidelines aimed at containing business travel emissions and limiting the environmental impact of travel by conference participants to the ECB had already been drawn up in 2021. Although business travel activities increased in 2022, leading to an expected rebound effect, the emissions resulting from business travel were still 64% lower than before the pandemic in 2019.