Climate Change highlighted in rules for travelling
According to updated rules for travelling environmental impact of all travelling at UCPH has to be considered before booking.
In the future, when researchers at UCPH are joining conferences or doing field work they will be forced to consider the climate impact of their journey. In the updated rules for travelling, dating from January 8th, the employees are led to consider if it is necessary for them to travel in order to avoid unnecessary impact on the environment. The employees have to account for that it is not possible for them to participate through virtual solutions such as Skype. If it is necessary to travel employees have to avoid high-emissive transportation as airplanes and use busses, trains or shared cars instead. Furthermore direct planes should be prioritised as the CO2-emissions are high when the plane is airing.
You can find the updated rules at KUnet. Travellers are furthermore met by a tab on "Climate Change" when they are booking tickets. In UCPH's travel agent Carson Wagonlit it is possible to see the emissions from a journey, which makes it possible to consider if te travel is worth the emission.
Air travel is responsible for approximately 7-9 per cent of UCPH's carbon footprint, according to the recent estimations. Less air travel might therefore have a significant impact. KUnet also encourages employees to situate events that can be reached by public transport in order to reduce the emissions from transportation.
A change does require a new culture concerning air travelling. Is it necessary for event planners and hosts to prioritise virtual solutions when they are planning konferences and meetings. By enabling virtual participation it is possible to reduce the carbon footprint. Participants can also ask for the option for virtual participation. Many universities work on reducing their air travel. This provide a focus on technical solutions for virtual participation
