Stay Grounded Initative
Stay Grounded Policy Guide – A Guide to a Climate Friendly Travel Policy. More information about the Stay Grounded Initative can be found here
European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS) Colloquium [1]
Recommendation 1: Travel less and harness technology
§ Harnessing technology: Prioritizing travel-free meetings and video conferencing over physical travel and, when travel is needed, preferring collective forms of ground transportation (see recommendation 2)
- Offering blended sub-themes for upcoming EGOS meetings (committing to offer XX% of participants to participate via video-conferencing – especially those from overseas)
- Offering blended pre-workshops for upcoming EGOS meetings (committing to offer XX% of participants to participate via video-conferencing – especially those from overseas)
Recommendation 2: Opt-in for sustainable travel
§ In Europe: Choose collective ground transportation for travelling to EGOS
- Preferring train transportation within all destinations < 10 hours travel time, or longer if you have a direct day or night train option (soft version) [2]
- Preferring ground transportation within Europe in general (strict version) – we experienced for instance Edinburgh –> Köln (12 hours) Köln -> Vienna (night) as easy[3]
- Appointing “train champions” in the main city hubs who coordinate travel groups and may organize pre-conference meetings
- Scholars sign and organizers promote #EGOSbyTrain Pledge
§ From Overseas: Choose to renounce short-haul flights in Europe for travelling to EGOS:
- Carbon intensity for short haul air travel is disproportionally higher because of the greater portion of emissions generated during take-off and landing
- Faculty who travels from abroad/overseas commits to travel the last distance from the airport to the final destination by train (e.g. EGOS 2020 – from e.g. Frankfurt/Paris/London/Zürich (main hub) to Hamburg (final destination)). Further recommendations for long distance air travel:
- Choose to fly direct: choosing direct flights or flights with fewer connections is often more sustainable than multiple take-offs and landings.
- Choose economy class: business class seats have a greater share of weight per person and as such contribute to an increased fuel consumption and emissions
§ Choose active transit during the conference: Promote biking (cooperation with city bikes?) and walking options as main within-city transport during the conference to reduce air pollution, improve health through physical activity and offer affordable and accessible options.
Recommendation 3: Spread the word, collaborate and challenge the default flight-mode (conference board)
§ Spread the word:
- Start conversations about sustainable travel habits
- Share stories via social media – Be a role model in engaged actions
§ Collaboration with other events:
- Consider central, easy by train reachable places for conferences
- Consider “hub-and-node” event design – local European events (i.e. PROS; summer schools etc.) held in close tandem with larger central events (i.e. EGOS) to build local networks that consider travelling by train together (e.g. from PROS to EGOS…)
§ Challenge default-flight mode:
- Put ground transportation (especially train transportation) as primary mode of travelling (e.g. signaling through recommending trains as first option)[4]
- Check Tyndall Centre’s for Climate Change Research decision tree below
Conference general improvement ideas:
§ Water bottles and Coffee mugs
§ No plastic cups or 100% decomposable cups
§ No one-way lunch packages
§ Vegetarian/vegan catering
Points to consider when making conference travel decisions (Tyndall Centre):
[1]Based on our own experiences and inspired by existing policies, especially Tyndall Center, CBS,Ghent University, ETH Zurich, McGill University.
[2]University policies range between 6 and 12 hours. The Tyndall center suggests 12 hours (see also Note 3)
[3]A suggestion: for the day trip plan to finish one of your papers; when you arrive at destination you will have done a lot of work but regret not having more time – a couple of hours more would have helped!
[4]There are some specialized train tickets providers like https://www.thetrainline.com/or Ruefa for Austria. Important information on train travel at https://www.seat61.com
OS4Future 