Sustainability

Travel

Travel is one of the three top sources of greenhouse gas emissions globally. At the University, we take a 'climate conscious' approach to travel to reduce our emissions where we can.

Why is travel important?

Travel offers opportunities for individuals, groups, and companies. It is a significant employer and driver of economies worldwide. However, travel is unequal, with the richest taking more flights. Air travel is a significant source of carbon emissions, estimated at 3.5% of global warming in 2019.

As a global university, we rely on international collaboration to achieve the best standards in teaching and research. That means that our staff and occasionally, our students, fly more than 80 million kilometres per year. That’s more than 100 times to the moon and back, or about halfway from the Earth to the Sun.

Over time, our travel emissions have risen significantly to the point that they will likely be the number one cause of our carbon emissions before 2040. In recent years, the increase in business travel cancelled out all the emissions cut from other parts of our operations.

Flights are responsible for 95% of our travel emissions, and more than half of those are from long-haul international flights where it wouldn’t be easy to take another form of transport.

To tackle this challenge, in 2020 we introduced the Climate Conscious Travel project.

Our initiatives

Sustainable Travel Policy (2021)

looking down the aisle of a plane or train, over shoulder of person wearing headphones.
The Sustainable Travel Policy sets out how all local, national and international travel taken on behalf of the University should take place. 

Reporting

Graph showing increasing carbon emissions from University Business Travel between 2012 and 2019
Use the dedicated business travel report to explore the University's travel data.

Case studies and blog posts

Read case studies and blog posts tagged as 'travel'

Take action

Climate conscious travel