Tracking in-service travel will now be easier
The data in the system allows for multiple search options and for users to compare travel patterns across different months and years. Illustration: Pixabay.
All Uppsala University staff can now access statistics on in-service travel booked through the University’s travel agency, Lingmerths. This new feature will make it easier for departments and divisions to monitor their travel patterns and work towards reducing their climate impact.
Lotta Hallnäs Rask. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt, Uppsala University.
Tidigare behövde medarbetare vända sig till resesamordnaren ePreviously, staff needed to contact the travel coordinator or the environmental function to obtain travel statistics. This information is now available directly in the University’s general management information system (GLIS). The statistics can be filtered for the entire University, by disciplinary domain or by department.
“This will increase access to data that has been wanted for some time. In addition, it will reduce vulnerability given that the data is made widely accessible and access to it is not dependent on a specific person or function. There is a growing interest from departments and equivalent units and similar organisations in accessing travel data for their specific trips,” says Lotta Hallnäs Rask, Environmental Coordinator at the University Administration.
The travel data shows both the number of kilometres travelled and emissions in the number of kilogrammes of carbon dioxide (CO2), broken down by mode of transport –such as air or rail – as well as domestic and international trips. Trips can also be searched by destination, such as Sweden, the Nordic countries, or the rest of Europe. It will also be easier to compare one's own department or equivalent with others, since all the data will be available in GLIS, according to Hallnäs Rask.
“This data will help provide a better understanding of the environmental impact of an individual department or equivalent in terms of in-service travel, or to track whether any measures already implemented have been effective,” she says.
Visible reduction in emissions from in-service travel
Marie Engegard. Photo: Uppsala University.
GLIS offers multiple search options and allows users to compare travel patterns across different months and years. Data on travel by Uppsala University staff is available dating back to 2017. Marie Engegard, Travel Coordinator at Uppsala University, sees opportunities to use these statistics in local environmental work.
“There is active environmental work going on throughout the organisation, where nearly every department or division has an environmental representative who monitors this work in their department or division. Now everyone can continuously track their own environmental and climate impact, making it easier for them to review their travel patterns and reduce their carbon footprint.”
According to the Environmental Office, the University’s emissions from in-service travel have decreased in recent years. At several departments, efforts have included initiating discussions about travel, developing carbon budgets, or implementing other regulatory measures.
“We can see that emissions from the University’s in-service travel have decreased in recent years. Our assessment is that this is largely due to the work undertaken at the departments, not least through discussions about their travel habits. It will now be even easier for each department or equivalent to track their travel patterns, but also to engage in a dialogue at various levels within the organisation about these travel patterns,” Hallnäs Rask emphasises.
Need to refine monitoring efforts
However, the statistics in GLIS cannot be directly compared with the University’s official reporting of its greenhouse gas emissions.
"The Environmental Office uses a different method to calculate the climate impact of the University's in-service travel than the one used by Lingmerths, the University's contracted travel agency,” says Lotta Hallnäs Rask.
But there are ways to make the monitoring even better. For example, by ensuring that departments report annually on their environmental work and that Uppsala University establishes a structure for systematically following up its environmental objectives, according to Marie Engegard.
“It is crucial to monitor targets and key performance indicators and to include the results in the University's annual report so that we can assess target fulfilment. Collecting, analysing and disseminating feedback from the departments is also important for strengthening local engagement and understanding of the purpose and results of environmental work.”
Johan Ahlenius