Academic air travel and the associated CO2 emissions have increased dramatically over the last 50 years, which is in conflict with the net-zero targets. Susann Görlinger will use the example of ETH Zurich and other universities to illustrate the challenges and opportunities in implementing projects to reduce air travel and present a toolbox to support academic institutions and interested scientists in designing their own process. A successful reduction of flight emissions requires a solid and long-term strategy in terms of data monitoring and governance, as well as a willingness to transform the academic system, which currently relies heavily on intercontinental mobility.
Susann Görlinger has been working on the topic of flight reduction in academia since 2016. She initiated and led ETH Zurich’s flight reduction project until autumn 2021 and was then, until the end of last year, responsible for the «FlyingLess» network to support academic institutions to reduce their air travel emissions. As part of FlyingLess, she created a toolbox to support academic organisations in this area. This has also resulted in a paper (https://www.nature.com/articles/s44168-023-00069-y). Together with a colleague from ETH Zurich, she recently founded a non-profit company („iilo GmbH“) for sustainability consulting as an ETH spin-off.
Moderation: Dr. Hasmik Hunanyan