Air Travel Project

The Air Travel Project of ETH Zurich motivates affiliates to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions from work-related air travel in a participatory, evidence-based and solution-oriented approach.

ETH Zurich has defined sustainability as one of its strategic goals and is working to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions until 2030. After greenhouse gas emissions from heating and cooling have already been noticeably reduced, particularly in the building sector, the focus is now shifting to the indirect emissions in the value chains of purchased services and consumed goods. Business travel at ETH Zurich - of which roughly 93% is attributable to air travel - accounts for a significant share (approx. 13%) of these indirect emissions with an estimated 18,000 tons of CO2-equivalent emissions (as of 2017).

The goal of the ETH Air Travel Project, which was launched in 2017, is to implement a concrete reduction path that is compatible with excellence in science and the best possible career opportunities for researchers. ETH Zurich has been recording its greenhouse gas emissions from business travel since 2006 and thus has one of the most comprehensive data sets on air travel emissions in Switzerland and abroad. The latest data on air travel emissions is presented in the interactive data dashboard in the Data Stewardship section.

The topic of reducing air travel affects the globalized scientific community as a whole, meaning that exchange with other universities and research institutions in Switzerland and around the world is a key element of the project. The Swiss Network for Sustainable University Business Travel, for example, regularly meets to promote the reduction of emissions from university air travel as a joint effort.


This website is curated by ETH Sustainability. Suggestions for amendments and updates are always welcome:

Contact

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Office of the President
ETH Sustainability
Weinbergstrasse 41
8092 Zurich
Switzerland

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