Air Travel

REDUCTION GOAL: By 2012, reduce net emissions from air travel to no more than
40,000 t CO2e

 2007  2008  2009 2010 2012 Target
23,496 t CO2e 23,265 t CO2e 21,652 t CO2e 21,250 t CO2e  40,000 t C02e
         

Goal Overview

In FY08, air travel was the largest source of net emissions for OSU, contributing more than 35,000 t CO2e. Emissions from air travel have increased rapidly in the past years; the European Environmental Agency estimated that emissions from air travel increased 73% between 1990 and 2005. The growth in university‐related air travel and the lack of alternatives to air travel
make this a difficult source to mitigate. Because many university‐related activities occur at great distances from the main campus and because Oregon occupies a coastal – rather than central – location in the United States, air travel is expected remain a necessary transportation mode for a considerable number of faculty.

Even with these complicating factors, emissions from air travel can be reduced without drastically impacting the way OSU does business.

Progress Summary

Strategy Implementation Period FY10 Progress  Estimated FY10 Reduction
1: Encourage alternative transportation modes  FY11  N/A  
2: Restrict air travel (or reimbursements) in certain cases      
3: Encourage use of alternatives to travel (technologies such as teleconferencing, etc.)  FY11 Teleconferencing  
4: Minimize climate impact of air travel      
5: Offset remaining emissions from air travel      

For more detail, please see OSU Climate Plan pages 24-26.