Sustainability

Travel and Aviation Working Group (TAWG)

TAWG's remit is to support the delivery of the University’s ambition to be a net zero University by 2040 by undertaking a programme of work to secure a University-wide ‘climate conscious’ approach to travel, including aviation.

Remit

Established in October 2019, as one of the actions the University should take to continue responding to the climate crisis, the Travel and Aviation Working Group report directly to the University Executive.

The groups remit is to support the delivery of the University’s ambition to be a net zero University by 2040 by undertaking a programme of work to secure a University-wide ‘climate conscious’ approach to travel, including aviation.

Specifically, to:

  • Define a vision for climate conscious travel and advise the University Executive on the package of measures required to support and deliver the vision
  • To undertake analysis of the drivers of travel including aviation, the costs in terms of travel and accommodation, carbon impacts and associated impact of travel itself on wellbeing, student and staff experience
  • To prepare convincing and well evidenced interventions to adjust policy, process, culture and decision making that will deliver in the period to 2025 a transformation in the University’s approach to travel, towards a climate conscious mode
  • To ensure any proposals are fully costed and considered and do not place at risk other important objectives on research, student experience, business development or globalisation and connectivity
  • To make recommendations on how best to introduce a presumption in favour of rail-only use for trips within the UK, drawing on existing experience in other Universities and ensuring opt-outs are in place for urgent or other trips where rail is not feasible, including levels of authorisation required
  • To examine how and at what level an ‘aviation levy’ (proposed at 10%) should be introduced and to consider the policy, process and external stakeholder issues associated with such a proposal including advice on when to introduce, expected funds raised in the period to 2025, impact on existing budgets, and whether and to what extent funds raised should be applied for climate projects and technology interventions other than RELCO carbon offsets
  • To examine the business case for further technology interventions in support of lower cost, climate conscious travel such as VC or high end VC equipment
  • To examine the case for collective University action on taxis, and whether lower cost, lower carbon forms of travel would be viable and to make recommendations
  • To provide advice on the form of strategic, stakeholder and internal communications required to deliver the desired changes
  • To prepare an overall report detailing a list of proposed interventions, evidence, costs, impacts, required changes to policy and associated requirements for leadership and communications
  • The group should avoid measures that simply displace UoE emissions to other organisations and should recommend ways for UoE to manage international events to lower carbon impact
  • The group should recommend future metrics and ways of reporting in order to ensure the vision of climate conscious travel is delivered.

Membership

Sandy Tudhope, Convener, University Lead on Climate Responsibility and Sustainability

Richard Anderson, Senior Lecturer, Architecture and Landscape Architecture

Kevin Ashley, Director, Digital Curation Centre

Harry Campbell, Personal Chair of Genetic Epidemiology & Public Health

Chris Cox, Executive Director Development and Alumni

Sarah Cunningham-Burley, University Lead on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Gavin Donoghue, Deputy Director, Stakeholder Relations, Communications & Marketing

Grant Ferguson, Director of Estates Operations

Dave Gorman, Director of Social Responsibility and Sustainability

Bruce Nelson, College Registrar, Science and Engineering

Siôn Pickering, SRS Projects Coordinator

Rachael Robertson, Deputy Director of Finance

James Smith, Vice Principal International

Rosheen Wallace/Amanda Scully, Students’ Association VP Community

Meetings and papers

2020

27 February
11 May
4 June

 

 

2019

18 December
6 November