Guideline for project planning to facilitate sustainable travel

This is a "living" document that supports project planning and organisation to reduce travel emissions for all LUCSUS staff. Share the guidelines with new staff and visiting researchers. This document complements the LUCSUS travel policy and should be updated regularly with new ideas to maintain LUCSUS's best available knowledge base around low-emission travel in project planning and implementation. The guidelines are valid for all members of the staff, except where a specific role or staff category is assigned.

Travel Planning and Coordination

Strategic Project Location. When possible, focus research activities in selected geographical areas to build local knowledge and continuity, while reducing the need for frequent travel.

Local Partnerships. Collaborate with local universities and non-academic partners to conduct on-site research on your behalf when this is feasible.

Hybrid Node Models. Organise conferences and meetings via "geographical nodes" where people meet locally and connect virtually to other hubs.

Prioritise Necessity. Plan travel/fieldwork only when it is essential; prioritise long-term fieldwork over short-term conferences in project planning and implementation if possible.

Combine Trips. Combine projects, fieldwork, and conferences in the same region into a single journey rather than making separate trips. When feasible, also integrate outreach/dissemination travel with other travel needs in the project.

Extend Stays. Travel less frequently but stay longer to maximise each trip. This is facilitated by careful planning of fieldwork at an early stage of the project when possible.

Selective Attendance. Evaluate if an entire project team needs to attend an event or if one representative (ideally the closest one) is sufficient.

Enhancing Virtual meetings and "distance research"

Distance Research. Utilise online interviews and remote data collection where internet access permits.

Improve Meeting Quality. Use advanced tech (like multi-screen setups) to make online participants feel physically present.

Standardise Instructions. The Environmental Committee is responsible for ensuring the one-page "how-to" guides are available in main meeting rooms (for now, Vandana) for sound and video setups to reduce technical issues.

Optimising the "Slow Travel" Experience

Mindset Shift. View train travel as a high-productivity "mobile office" rather than a time loss. (Concrete suggestions in the book; Brain Train: en handbok för gröna och kreativa arbetsresor by Isak Svensson, Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs and Desirée Nilsson in Swedish available from the Environmental Committee).

Utilise Benefits. Use First Class train bookings to increase comfort while working when economically possible and for longer journeys. Visit the Staff Pages for information about booking rail travel.

Break Up Journeys. Stop at intermediate cities to work, visit family, or rest to avoid "travel fatigue”, while within current workplace regulations.

Travel Together. Use interactive platforms or email organisers to find colleagues for shared train journeys.

Practical Health Support. Encourage LU to post information on managing sickness related to train travel via the university website. If you require medical support for long train travel, costs may be compensated for by LUCSUS.

Institutional Support

New Staff Onboarding. Use this document or consider if LUCSUS can create a "Sustainable Travel" welcome booklet to inform new employees of their options from day one.

Incentives and Funding. The document clarifying the availability of support for extra costs for ground travel for max two trips per year for PhD students should be made available at the Environmental Committee home page.

Peer Mentorship. Encourage experienced travellers to help less confident colleagues with complex train bookings or connections. Everyone is welcome to contact the Environmental Committee for support or questions.

Regulation Compliance. Combine pleasure, family visits, and commitments outside of work with work when possible. But make sure to adhere to university regulations (e.g., for insurance reasons, we must come into the office regularly and can't work remotely for longer periods of time).

Improve Booking Systems. The Environmental Committee will contact the LU environmental officer to suggest improvements for the university’s travel booking platforms for better functionality, including a service number for travel updates during unexpected delays.