The University of Geneva is implementing a policy on business travel by air with a clear objective: to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. This policy applies to all flights recorded for accounting purposes within the institution. It will gradually come into force by the start of the academic year in September 2020.
UNIGE is a comprehensive university, internationally recognized and pursuing its missions integratively. Research, one of its three core missions, is, by nature, international. Exchanges, the dissemination of the work done and fieldworks are an integral part of the researchers' lives and require regular travels. Human interaction and unscheduled exchanges of informations, during conferences or network meetings, play an important role, particularly in the development of young researchers' careers. Similarly, the promotion of new research and discoveries in conferences is crucial in a world where it becomes increasingly difficult to follow all the literature. Exchanges, partnerships and institutional agreements between universities from different continents also play an increasingly important role in a globalized society where student mobility is regularly increasing.
Climate change and biodiversity loss are two major challenges for the coming decades in which the academic world is called upon to play a crucial role. They require actions. The creation and transmission of knowledge on the subject, the expertise provided to decision-makers as well as coherent operational actions are the three facets of the same strategy.
The public credibility of academic institutions, which is strong and essential in times of fake news, is backed by a duty of coherence.
Similarly, pressure from the student community, public authorities and the population is leading more and more institutions to take restrictive measures.
The University of Geneva wishes to implement an ambitious policy that takes into account the three above-mentioned, issues with the objective of maximizing its impact in order to significantly decarbonize its activities.
Discover our policy, its objective and measures