LOW-CARBON TRAVEL POLICY
Acknowledgements
Work on the CET Low-Carbon Travel Policy started in 2018 and was developed by a working group at CET
Kårstein Måseide Research coordinator
Stina Ellevseth Oseland, PhD Candidate
Jakob Grandin, PhD Candidate
Jesse Schrage , PhD Candidate
Kårstein Måseide developed the first version of the CET Carbon Tracker
In 2023 a new working group published a report and the Low Carbon Travel Guide This work led to the updated Low-Carbon Travel Policy
Jesse Schrage, Researcher
Judith L Reczek Dalsgård, Communications manager
Christine Rooks, Research Coordinator
Rafael Rosales, PhD Candidate
Shayan Shokrgozar, PhD Candidate, Christine van der Horst, PhD Candidate
The Low-Carbon Travel Policy was approved by the CET steering committee in October 2024
Actionable knowledge for transformation.
About CET
Climate change is one of the greatest societal challenges of our time. While we have acquired substantial knowledge about physical climate changes and their impacts on society, new knowledge is needed on how to achieve rapid, just and deep transformation of society
The Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation (CET) is based at the Faculty of Social Sciences and is a hub for interdisciplinary research with a basis in the social sciences in this area. CET brings together researchers from three partner institutions - the University of Bergen, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS and NHH Norwegian School of Economics
Background
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), “the continuing growth in passenger [ ] activity could outweigh all mitigation measures unless transport emissions can be strongly decoupled from GDP growth ” For knowledge organisations like universities, air travel constitutes a significant part of its climate footprint, and “critical, accountable and transparent actions” are therefore dearly needed to address these emissions
Travelling has been deeply ingrained in academic life since the beginning of the Western university model Mobility is central to how research is organised, partnerships are formed, and how individual academic careers unfold At CET we recognise our share of the global greenhouse gas emissions and that academic researchers are amongst the highest emitters through their research practices In Norway, transportation accounts for 34% of climate gas emissions with the highest climate impacts coming from aviation and cars Recent research also shows that Norway is top 3 in the world for domestic air travel.
While the University of Bergen has set an ambitious goal to reduce emissions from travel by 89% between 2018 and 2030 (and 50% by 2025), a strategy for how these targets are going to be reached and enforced, particularly at the department and/or centre level, remains largely absent
The first CET low-carbon travel policy was implemented in 2018 and has successfully created awareness and mobilised alternatives for low-emission travel among its researchers and staff
Since 2018, CET has been active in ongoing research on travel related emissions. Research from the Transfight project, where CET researchers participated, showed that there is support among researchers for measures for a more sustainable way of conducting research, however there is resistance for mandatory measures.
In this updated CET Low Carbon Travel Policy, we explore new tools and guidelines for planning and prioritising carbon emissions to support sustainable research activities.
Goal
The purpose of the CET Travel Policy is to reduce climate gas emissions from CET activities following UiB's climate targets and inspire similar efforts outside CET. In pursuing this goal, we hope to mobilise:
Awareness of climate gas emission targets and own emissions among researchers;
Alternatives for climate-friendly ways of organising, conducting and meriting research;
Assessment tools for supporting researchers in planning and reducing their emissions.
CET Low Carbon Travel Committee
The CET Low Carbon Travel committee is made up of representatives from CET including a permanent staff researcher, a temporary researcher (PhD or PostDoc) and the centre administration. They will work on the following activities together with the CET secretariat:
Lobby. CET will use our positions in committees and boards at UiB to lobby for, and propose solutions for, low carbon research practices at UiB.
Fund alternatives. The committee will continue to find ways to fund and subsidise lowcarbon travels.
Engagement. The committee will create engagement around low-carbon travel through outreach such as seminars and op-eds.
Measures and assesment tools
This policy offers several measures and tools to assist researchers in minimising their climatic footprint. They are designed to be simple to understand and self-guided.
CET Code of Conduct, providing overall guidelines for low-carbon conduct of research.
CET Low-carbon Meetings, a checklist for planning and implementation of meetings with a low-carbon footprint.
CET Carbon Management Plan, a template to plan emissions for research projects.
CET Code of conduct
Researchers are encouraged to comply with the following code of conduct:
Monitor and reduce. I will keep track and be aware of the carbon emissions tied to my professional activities and set personal objectives to reduce them in line with or larger than UiB’s carbon emissions commitments
Consider alternatives. I will consider the use of video conferencing and streaming to reduce travel I will encourage meeting organisers to provide streaming options for meetings. When I need to travel, I will use transportation options with the lowest possible emissions
Plan, prioritise and combine. I will consider meetings attended based on the least amount of carbon emissions I will plan my travels well in advance to be able to prioritise between travels and combine several activities in the same location when possible I will justify my travel considering the priority, location and purpose of the event, and the alternative options available. All projects led by CET will have a Carbon Management Plan. We encourage all project partners to consider creating a Carbon Management Plan
Reduce the footprint of events. For activities that I organise, I will choose the location by giving high priority to a low carbon footprint of travel of the participants, and I will encourage, incorporate and technically support online speakers and webcasts to reduce unnecessary travel.
Support a low-carbon research culture. I will work with my peers, organisation/department and funders to value alternative metrics of success and encourage the promotion of low-carbon research as a realisable alternative to a highcarbon research career I will resist my own FoMo (Fear of Missing Out) by not attending everything and working towards sensitising others to the need for the research community to walk the talk on climate change.
CET Low-carbon meetings
Meetings with funders, affiliates or research project groups are integral to academic life However, while meeting in person provides a wide range of opportunities and benefits, events hosted by researchers and academic communities also come with emissions, both due to travelling and serving food To assess and increase awareness of this aspect of academic life, a checklist for the organisers of meetings is included here
Planning Need
Assess the need for having a meeting; Consider alternatives (virtual meetings etc )
Time and place
Optimise location to minimise total travel; Combine with other activities when possible
Participants
Assess the number of participants needed to be present in person
Implementation Travels
Encourage/support climate-friendly travels (both long-distance and local); Encourage affiliates to track their emissions from travel using an available CO emissions tracker.
2
Food
Assess the need for serving food; Avoid food waste by estimating amount and prevent no-shows (e.g. through preregistration with fees); Order vegetarian or plant-based food only; Choose local and climate-friendly providers; Avoid single-use items for serving.
Visibility & multiplying effect
Spread low-carbon ideas in networks and for future meetings
CET Carbon Management Plan
The University of Bergen has set an ambitious goal to reduce emissions from travel by 89% between 2018 and 2030 (and 50% by 2025) Most research have a high amount of emissions. The aim of the Carbon Management Plan (CMP) is to plan and prioritise emissions throughout a research project. Below is an example, download the template here.
Projecttitle:
Projectperiod:
Principalinvestigator:
1. Examples of types of activities:
Outline the emissions-generating activities in the project:
Outline the emissions-generating activities in the project. Please indicate how emissions levels developed through the timespan of the project.
Transport
Fieldwork
Project meetings, workshops (internal)
Conferences and seminars (external)
Meetings with funders
Other
Materials and equipment
Data storage and processing
1. Start-up meeting in Bergen x
2. Field work in South Africa x x
3. Workshop with collaborative partners x x
CETCarbon ManagementPlan
2. Justification and prioritisation of the planned emissions
Explain the academic reasons for the emissions, how the project prioritises its emissions, and which measures are being put in place to minimise emissions from the project. Explain how the emissions of the project resonate with CET's travel policy
The UiB travel policy suggests this order of prioritisation: Important travel for data collection. 1. Partner meetings with partners that can not be done by video. 2. Conference presentations. 3.
Plot the planned activities from the previous table below with the academic reasons (justification) and prioritisation using the UiB guidelines. CO calculators are available online to calculate approximate emissions.
3. Follow up and audit
Explain how you plan to follow up the CMP. Will the CMP be discussed at annual project meetings? Who in the project leadership team is responsible for following up the CMP with the internal and external research partners?
CET Low Carbon Travel Guide
The Low-Carbon Travel Guide was published in October 2023 and includes tools, tips and experiences to inspire other researchers and institutions to minimise their climatic footprint. The guide builds on a survey carried out at CET in 2023, personal stories, data from the centre’s staff, and inspiration from other institutions. We hope to challenge the ubiquity of highly mobile academic careers and provide a practical way of transforming our practices of doing research
References and further readings
Tr2ail
From 2019 - 2022 CET was a partner in the TR AIL project led by the Stockholm Environmental Institute The Tracking, Reflecting and Reducing Air Travel: A Pathway to More sustainable travel Behaviour (TR AIL) project developed a prototype tool to support more sustainable decision-making around air travel The project published a report with practical tips on tracking reporting and reducing business air travel emissions
Transflight
From 2021 - 2023 CET was partner in the TRANSFLIGHT project The Shaping the future of air travel (TRANSFLIGHT) project supports climate policy in the complex and conflicting issue of air travel by taking advantage of the COVID-19 window of opportunity The findings from this project are in the Shaping the Future of Air Travel report and in this article.
[1] IPCC, Synthesis Report. Contributions of Working Groups I,II and III to the fifth Assesment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, p.603
[2] UNFCCC, “technical Dialogue of the First Global Stocktake. Synthesis Report by the Co-Faciliatatos on the Technical Dialogue UNFCCC, p.9 [3] Gärdebo, J. and Soldal, K. (eds.). The Travelling Scientist's Itinerary. Stockholm: KTH (2017).
[4] https://miljostatus.miljodirektoratet.no/tema/klima/norske-utslipp-av-klimagasser/klimagassutslipp-fra-transport/
[5] Klenner, J., Muri, H. Ø., Strømmen, A.H. (2024) Domestic and international aviation emission inventories for the UNFCCC parties, Environmental Research Letters
[6] Goals outlined in the Climate Neutral UiB report 2021see: https://www.uib.no/en/sustainability/154836/climate-neutral-uib#definitionsand-goals
[7] CET, CET Low-carbon Travel Policy
[8] Schreuer, A., Thaller, A.E and Posch, A (2022) Reducing air travel emissions in academia: an exploration of universities’ manoeuvring room International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
