LUCSUS travel policy
Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS)1 – adopted by the board 2025-02-07, and updated 2026-06-02
The travel guidelines will apply to all staff and guests associated with, and visiting LUCSUS, with an eye to creating a working and learning environment in which environmental sustainability is prioritized. They can also be used to inform LUCSUS teaching and inspire students to take corresponding steps of their own.
As sustainability scientists, reducing our emissions is an imperative that follows from our ambition to lead in research, teaching and fostering the necessary changes towards a more sustainable future. It is also a sound outreach strategy, in that “walking the talk” on sustainable transformation can help inspire wider efforts by private and institutional actors to decrease their own emissions.
This version of the travel policy is an updated version of the first LUCSUS travel policy from 2018-12- 06 and hence represents a new commitment to address travel-related behaviour and emissions in the post-covid period. The new version of the policy was preceded by a workshop on the topic of essential and non-essential travel held during LUCSUS kick-off 2024-08-23. Within this initiative, we recognise that we need to remain attentive to the potential impacts of the travel policy for early- and mid-career researchers and for staff with caregiver duties.
LU sustainability plan specified a goal to reduce CO2 emissions from travel by 50% to 2023, compared to 2019. The actual reduction was, however, only 9%. An update and sharpening of the Lund University travel policy is ongoing with the Lund University work safety and environmental unit. LUCSUS travel policy will be reevaluated according to the new LU policy after it has been implemented.
As part of the internal LUCSUS environmental work, PhD students have the possibility to get some additional economic support for increased costs associated with more sustainable travel modes (e.g. train travel) compared to air travel.
Concretely, LUCSUS hereby commits to:
- Pursue a long-term strategy to reduce emissions from academic travel, and facilitate staff needs in choosing low-carbon travel.
- Systematically collect travel-related emissions via the university’s procurement officer.
- Utilize emissions data as an awareness-raising tool, to evaluate progress, and gradually increase the ambition towards a low-carbon teaching and research environment. This includes informing our students on the climate impact of flying and the importance of finding other means of travel when possible.
- Actively give voice to the academic flying issue in fora within and outside the university, as a way to raise awareness of the problem.
- Help to address institutional barriers to change, and to advocate for, and develop structural solutions.
As part of a commitment to reduce travel-related emissions, LUCSUS staff agrees to:
- Justify (for oneself) any travel made, taking into account: the location and purpose of the event, benefit to LUCSUS of participating, benefit to individual career, own level of seniority and responsibility, and the alternative options available.
- Prioritize, wherever possible, travel-free meetings and telephone/video conferences over physical travel, and collective ground (train, boat or bus) travel over air travel.
- Prioritize ground travel for all trips within Sweden.
- Prioritize ground travel for all international destinations within 12 hours from Lund, and seriously consider this for all trips within Europe. Always ask the Lund University travel Agency BCD for a non-flight alternative for any travel booking within Europe. For booking international train travel contact the assigned train travel bureau Togrejse (Utrikes tåg i Europa | Medarbetarwebben).
- Always consider work related travel emissions in grant planning and applications, even if the grant provider does not explicitly suggest this. For more information see the LUCSUS project planning guidelines.
- Monitor individual, work-related travels, and set progressively ambitious objectives to reduce them. In conjunction with the annual staff appraisal meeting the director of LUCSUS will discuss individual objectives and possible emission reduction.
- Prioritize low-carbon opportunities for all activities and events organized. This means: fewer participants travelling long distances by air and ensuring key roles for those that do travel; giving high priority to locations that can be reached with low-carbon travel options; encouraging and facilitating train travel for event participants; and encouraging and technically supporting online speakers.
- Encourage and stimulate a low-carbon working culture at LUCSUS and within the wider academic community, by: resisting our own Fear of Missing Out and supporting each other in making conscious travel decisions, and working towards sensitizing others to the need of the research community to walk the talk on climate change.
- Working with colleagues, institutional actors and funders to value alternative metrics of success and encourage the promotion of low-carbon research as a viable alternative to a high-carbon research career.
Appendix 1: Decision support for essential and non-essential travel for staff and students regarding academic travel2
| Staff group | Well justified travel | Poorly justified travel |
|---|---|---|
| All | Fieldwork/lab-work/research/study trips that cannot be carried out locally or virtually. Travel subject to contractual obligations with external partners (funding bodies) or organizations. Key meetings to establish collaborations and trust. Some legally or commercially sensitive negotiations or discussions, where these cannot be carried out locally or online. | Regular, routine or administrative meetings with colleagues/ collaborators. Travelling without presenting new research results. Travelling for very short durations without significant associated opportunities or outputs (e.g. to give a talk only). Conferences/meetings where no new results are presented and there are limited associated opportunities or outputs. |
| Early/mid career | See ‘All’ above, as well as the below: Collaborations and knowledge-sharing with low-middle income countries. Long stays at other institutions for research, study or business purposes. Some public outreach/engagement activities that cannot be carried out locally or online. | See ‘All’ above, as well as the below: In-person examinations (recommended default is online when examiner travel involves air travel). When goals could be achieved with fewer travelers. |
| Mid career | See ‘All’ above, as well as the below: Presenting and promoting work/research at conferences, meetings, workshops. Key opportunities for networking and mentorship, including finding new collaborators or career development opportunities. Attending key training not available locally. | See ‘All’ above, as well as the below: Attending a workshop or meeting not directly related to own research, study or business projects. |
| Senior staff | See ‘All’ above, as well as the below: When in-person interaction is significantly more likely to result in a successful fundraising /negotiating outcome. Conferences/meetings where there are significant associated opportunities/ outputs. | See ‘All’ above, as well as the below: Attending a workshop or meeting not directly related to own research, study or business projects. |
2 Adapted from University of Cambridge Guidelines for Sustainable Business Travel March 2022