Quantitatively understanding of work related mobility in academia

Research, education and science advances all rely on active communication and the exchange of ideas and findings to allow further progress. Therefore, the current research environment is very international and relies on business travel as a way to facility this exchange. 

Monitoring our footprint will be key to understand our current situation and how to align with European NET Zero targets. This active exchange (going abroad and inviting guests and new colleagues) comprises in average between 20-40% of the CO2 footprint of a university or research institute. 

Our mobility survey in 2023 was a first step to get detailed data. In addition six ISTA students analysed the campus footprint using the 2022 data and analysed how much CO2 can be saved if we included more train travel.

Speakers: Jeroen Dobbelaere (Sustainability Manager ISTA), Natalia Ruzickova ( Phd-Student Tkacik Group) and Anna Sisak (Phd-Student Hausel Group)