Global Academic without the Global Footprint
Connectivity is a key part of academic endeavour, whether for meetings with global partners, undertaking field research or speaking at conferences. However, achieving this connectivity by physically travelling has a significant impact on the climate.
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Map of flights taken by UCL staff in 2018-19
The map shows the destinations of more than 22,500 flights taken by UCL staff in the last academic year. Each red dot is a different destination and the size of the dot indicates the number of flights to that destination.
Despite the high concentration of dots in Europe, the impact of long-distance flights is the most significant, with 87% of UCL’s travel emissions coming from these journeys.
So what can you do?
To help to support sustainable travel choices UCL’s Travel Expenses Policy has been updated to ask you to “select the most carbon-efficient way of reaching your destination, even if this may not necessarily be the cheapest”. The climate impact of travel is also an area that funding bodies are starting to reflect on. For example, the Wellcome Trust have recently updated their Travel Policy to address their concerns.
The guidance pages below offer advice and top tips for reducing your travel impact.
Avoid travelling by utilising our virtual connectivity resources such as video conferencing.
Travel can be unavoidable, use these resources to minimise your climate impact.
View our resources to help you travel by train in the UK and abroad.
When travel is unavoidable you can offset your emissions here.
UCL Chemical Engineering announces Sustainability Travel Policy to be Carbon Neutral by July 21/22. View their policy here.
All travel must be booked through UCL's travel provider, Clarity Travel. It is UCL policy that staff must travel in the most carbon efficient way despite the cost. Clarity Travel will support you to do this by providing the carbon footprint of your travel and signposting you to our offsetting provider Trees for Life.
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