Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Sustainability

Publisher

MDPI

Rights and Access Note

This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Publication Date

5-2014

Publisher location

Basel, Switzerland

First Page

2718

Last Page

2735

Issue Number

5

Volume Number

6

Abstract/ Summary

This paper presents data on carbon emissions generated by travel undertaken for a major sustainability science research effort. Previous research has estimated CO2 emissions generated by individual scientists, by entire academic institutions, or by international climate conferences. Here, we sought to investigate the size, distribution and factors affecting the carbon emissions of travel for sustainability research in particular. Reported airline and automobile travel of participants in Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative were used to calculate the carbon dioxide emissions attributable to research-related travel over a three-year period. Carbon emissions varied substantially by researcher and by purpose of travel. Travel for the purpose of dissemination created the largest carbon footprint. This result suggests that alternative networking and dissemination models are needed to replace the high carbon costs of annual society meetings. This research adds to literature that questions whether the cultural demands of contemporary academic careers are compatible with climate stabilization. We argue that precise record keeping and routine analysis of travel data are necessary to track and reduce the climate impacts of sustainability research. We summarize the barriers to behavioral change at individual and organizational levels and conclude with suggestions for reducing climate impacts of travel undertaken for sustainability research.

Citation/Publisher Attribution

Waring, T.M., Teisl, M., Manandhar, E., & Anderson, M. 2014. On the Travel Emissions of Sustainability Science Research. Sustainability. 6(5), 2718-2735

Publisher Statement

© 2014 by the authors

DOI

DOI: 10.3390/su6052718

Version

publisher's version of the published document

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Rights Statement

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted.