Travelling on University Business
It's important for the University to maintain it's excellent reputation and part of that involves national and international collaborations, conferences and working. For many staff at some point this is likely to involve travelling on University Business.
Emissions from flights are the only area of the University's carbon emissions that are increasing rather than decreasing. To help us address this please consider the following tips.
Avoid travelling
Think - is your journey actually necessary? Could you save yourself and your department time and money by using alternatives?
Read MoreGo Eurostar
Many European destinations are now becoming accessible through rail improvements, and journey times are reducing.
Fly economy
Emissions attributed to a first class flight are 2.5 times higher than economy. Do you really need that upgrade?
Use tech
Meet with people all round the world from your desk using Skype and Office 365, or book the central videoconferencing facilities.
Set up a Skype conference callGive us the info
Carbon emissions are calculated from expense reports - check the codes you use and note down your transport type when you claim expenses so we can report accurately.
Take the train
Within the UK it's often faster to get to your destination by rail than by driving or flying.
Save money with split ticketsConsider alternatives
Technology
Think, is your journey actually necessary or would technology suffice? You can save yourself and your department time and money by using email, phone and online collaborations tools. Technology has improved greatly over the last few years, you can get everything you need from your desktop, but other facilities such as rooms for videoconferencing are available. Have you tried Office 365 and Skype for business at the University yet? We have. Check out our tips on setting up a skype conference call here. See our 'alternatives to travel' page for updates on technology provided by the University, and link to IT Services, and flexible working group.
If you do need to make the journey, consider are there other options than flying?
Rail
Many European countries are now becoming more easily accessible through rail improvements, also helping to reduce journey times. These should be considered where applicable instead of flying however, we understand that it is often not viable to replace flights with trains.
UK Travel
For UK travel
If travelling by train know that split ticketing can save you money - one website to highlight the options for this is: https://split.traintimes.org.uk/
Handy links
When booking any travel remember to use our contracted travel bookers and follow the expenses policy.
Some handy links if you're looking to book travel on University Business:
- University Finance pages on University Business Travel relating to Insurance
- Link to Procurement Travel expenses page
- Link to expenses policy
- Link to CTM contracted travel bookers
- Link to split ticket for rail discounts