Business travel

Our academic strategy for the next 10 years is rooted in our desire to make a difference in the world, and our strategy of Universal Values, Global Change will deliver this. Collaboration with international partners and delivering global impacts from research are key activities at the University of Leeds that help us to deliver the University Strategy and shape a better future. 

Travel is essential for staff and students to meet these goals, be it for research, innovation or other learning opportunities. However, travel for business and research contributes significantly to the University’s carbon emissions. In 2018/2019, business travel was responsible for over 13,000 tonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions, making it our second highest source of measured greenhouse gas emissions after the energy used to operate our buildings and estate. 

As part of the University’s Climate Plan, a key tenet of the University Strategy, we are working towards net zero emissions across our operations, including travel.  

To help meet the University’s net-zero target, we aim to significantly reduce the impact of business and commuting travel, with a goal to achieve and maintain emissions at 50% of 2018-19 levels. This commitment to sustainability will be balanced with our dedication to academic excellence.  

We are striving to be sector-leading, to create a strategy which incentivises sustainable travel. We believe that it will be through collaboration that we will deliver creative and long-lasting approaches to reduce our travel emissions. 

The travel hierarchy provides a framework to empower, encourage and support colleagues at the University of Leeds to make sustainable decisions when travelling for University business.  

All University of Leeds colleagues are encouraged to follow the travel hierarchy and review a set of questions before travelling to support making sustainable travel decisions.  

1. Avoid travel – consider whether travel is necessary  

• Why are you attending the meeting or event in person? What are the benefits of in-person attendance?  

• Can you achieve your goals without being physically present?  

• Is virtual attendance a viable option?  

If you consider attending an event virtually and have questions and/ or require information about digital communication options, please contact IT Services via the IT Self Service - University of Leeds IT or the IT Service Desk (+44 113 343 3333).

 

2. Reduce travel – consider these possibilities  

• Can you combine this trip with other trips to avoid additional travel? e.g., can you include any meetings, events or fieldwork in this trip?  

• Could you take fewer trips? e.g., by reducing the frequency of meetings?  

• Can you reduce the distance you need to travel? e.g., if you are organising an activity, can you choose a location that reduces the distance for each participant?  

• Can you minimise the number of people making the trip? e.g. if you are planning a group travel, is it possible to delegate fewer representatives or only one representative while still meeting equity considerations and achieving your objectives? 

 

3. Travel without flying - consider alternatives for travel within the UK, to Europe, or within other countries  

• Rail travel  

• • Consider using rail services in the UK, in Europe and within other countries. For short- to medium distances, travel by rail is often faster because stations are in city centres and less time is required for security and boarding procedures.  

• • For travelling to Europe, consider Eurostar for main destinations (e.g., Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam).  

• Coach, ferry and car(share) are also alternative options for travel.  

 

4. Fly when there are no alternatives  

• Where possible, choose a direct flight it is less carbon intensive. If a direct flight is not possible, could any leg of the journey be made in a more sustainable way? 

• Travel economy class as it is less carbon intensive i.e., first and business class has up to 4 times higher emissions compared to economy class.  

 

In addition, colleagues can use our ‘Sustainable Travel Decision Tree’ to help making sustainable travel decisions before booking travel for University business. 

We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity. Our work on business travel is linked to the following SDGs:

• Goal 4: Quality education
• Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
• Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
• Goal 13: Climate action

Find out more about our impact on the SDGs.