Business Travel GHG Emissions Analysis: Factors, Tools, and Cases for Calculating GHG Emissions and Setting Science-Based Targets for Organizations

McCain, Maria; Dowd, Allison; Salzer, Dan; Toothaker, Erin; Xu, Shengyin

doi:10.46830/wriwp.20.00086

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…For example, in 2019, business travel emissions, including academics travelling to conferences, comprised approximately 17% of Stanford University's total carbon footprint, and 22% of their external emissions footprint 17 . Travel in general is a very signi cant contributor to GHG emissions, with business travel -which includes travel by academics and scientists -accounting for 15-20% of all travel 18,19 . Indeed, international aviation, often used by academics travelling to meetings, conferences and eld work, is the fastest growing source of GHG emissions (28% higher in 2023 than 2022) 20 , and a substantial contributor to GHG emissions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Balancing environmental sustainability with the social goals of scientific organisations: a ‘COM-B’ behaviour change strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international scientific conferences, meetings and educational events

Richards,

Bellon,

Goñi-Fuste

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Objective To estimate the environmental impact of two exemplar in-person academic events and, using the COM-B behaviour change framework of capability, opportunity, motivation, identify strategies that could be applied by organisers and participants to reduce this impact. Methods We calculated the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from two European PhD summer schools, one geographically peripheral and one central, organised by a European academic society, the European Academy of Nursing Science. We used participant distances from home university cities to the event sites to calculate individual GHG travel emissions. We incorporated on-site emissions into per-participant totals, and examined the relative contributions of travel and on-site factors to individual and total event emissions. We calculated the financial costs of individual participant attendance. Results Our exemplar events contributed between 41 tonnes and 99 tonnes CO2e emissions per event, a per-participant mean between 0.324, (SD 0.173) and 0.724, (SD 0.263) tonnes, representing 2 to 5.5 times the daily per-person European average. Distance from home was the largest contributor to emissions, with the peripheral event associated with 2.5 times the emissions of the central event, driven by aviation as flying was the only viable means to travel long distances. On-site emissions were no more than 26% of the total event emissions profiles. Costs were similar for both events. Implications Whilst organisers can provide participants with the opportunity to travel shorter distances and to sites where ground-based travel options are available, participants may not act on opportunities unless their capabilities and motivation are enhanced. We describe a behaviour change programme, structured using the COM-B model, that identifies strategies for organisers and participants to use to reduce the GHG emissions of academic events. A multi-component behavioural change programme including environmental change, enablement, education, incentivisation and persuasion is likely to be more successful than single strand approaches.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Balancing environmental sustainability with the social goals of scientific organisations: a ‘COM-B’ behaviour change strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international scientific conferences, meetings and educational events

Richards,

Bellon,

Goñi-Fuste

et al. 2024

Preprint

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show abstract

“…The transportation sector, which encompasses academic and business travel, is responsible for the largest proportion of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States 1 . Globally, business travel is estimated to be responsible for 15%–20% of air travel emissions 2 . Redefining what comprises ‘necessary’ travel is critical for mitigating further warming and safeguarding health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 Globally, business travel is estimated to be responsible for 15%-20% of air travel emissions. 2 Redefining what comprises 'necessary' travel is critical for mitigating further warming and safeguarding health. As healthcare providers, our concern for health is primary; as such, healthcare should be leading the way in decarbonization efforts that protect planetary health.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The mitigated carbon emissions of transitioning to virtual medical school and residency interviews: A survey‐based study

et al. 2023

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PurposePrior to COVID, thousands of medical school and residency applicants traversed their countries for in‐person interviews each year. However, data on the greenhouse gas emissions from in‐person interviews is limited. This study estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with in‐person medical school and residency interviews and explored applicant interview structure preferences.MethodsFrom March to June 2022, we developed and distributed a nine‐question, website‐based survey to collect information on applicant virtual interview schedule, demographics and preference for future interview format. We calculated theoretical emissions for all interviews requiring air travel and performed a content analysis of interview preference explanations.ResultsWe received responses from 258 first‐year and 253 fourth‐year medical students at 26 allopathic US medical schools who interviewed virtually in 2020–2021 and 2021–2022, respectively. Residency applicants participating in the study were interviewed at a mean of 15.3 programs (SD 5.4) and had mean theoretical emissions of 4.31 tons CO2eq. Medical school applicants participating in the study were interviewed at a mean of 6.9 programs and had mean theoretical emissions of 2.19 tons CO2eq. Ninety percent of medical school applicants and 91% of residency applicants participating in the study expressed a preference for hybrid or virtual interviews going forward.ConclusionIn‐person medical training interviews have significant greenhouse gas emissions. Virtual and hybrid alternatives have a high degree of acceptability among applicants.

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Decarbonizing business travel: a qualitative exploration of the (mis-)alignment between knowledge organizations’ climate strategies and travel practices

Müller

2023

Journal of Sustainable Tourism

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Business Travel GHG Emissions Analysis: Factors, Tools, and Cases for Calculating GHG Emissions and Setting Science-Based Targets for Organizations

Cited by 4 publications

References 11 publications

Balancing environmental sustainability with the social goals of scientific organisations: a ‘COM-B’ behaviour change strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international scientific conferences, meetings and educational events

Balancing environmental sustainability with the social goals of scientific organisations: a ‘COM-B’ behaviour change strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international scientific conferences, meetings and educational events

The mitigated carbon emissions of transitioning to virtual medical school and residency interviews: A survey‐based study

Decarbonizing business travel: a qualitative exploration of the (mis-)alignment between knowledge organizations’ climate strategies and travel practices

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