Flying High in Academia—Willingness of University Staff to Perform Low-Carbon Behavior Change in Business Travel

This study aims to explore the factors that influence business travel decisions of university staff, in particular the extent and ways in which they are willing to reduce emission-intensive air travel, and the personal and structural barriers to such behavior change. Three strategies to reduce air travel were investigated: abstaining from particular events, substituting travel through virtual participation and mode shifting to ground-based public transport. We tested the effects of (1) specific decision factors for engaging in long-distance travel, choosing specific modes of travel and choosing virtual solutions; (2) former travel activities; (3) postponed trips due to COVID-19; and (4) sociodemographic factors, on the willingness of individuals to reduce air travel in a sample of university employees. We calculated regression models for the three strategies and added a qualitative analysis of open-ended comments. Former travel behavior as well as pro-environmental considerations play significant roles, influencing the willingness of employees to change their business travel behavior. Furthermore, we found that willingness to reduce air travel depends on the scope of behavior change. Although travel behavior is unevenly distributed across different subgroups, sociodemographic factors only play a minor role in the regression models. The present study adds to the limited body of quantitative research on the reduction potential of academic air travel, presenting an examination of university staff's willingness to change their long-distance travel behavior. Implications for university polices are discussed.

Transport Energy Efficiency in Domestic Long-Distance Travel in Japan

A sound understanding of transport energy efficiency is of paramount importance. It has been widely accepted that a higher level of urban density is associated with a more significant amount of energy consumption in long-distance travel, including international trips. Meanwhile, its negative correlation with domestic long-distance travel was reported in only a few studies. In addition, the analysis of domestic long-distance travel and its transport energy efficiency has yet to be thoroughly conducted. Therefore, this study first assesses the transport energy efficiency of various transportation modes (roadways, railways, aviation, and waterways) in the form of energy intensity, and then obtains the overall transport energy intensity (OTEI) in the domestic long-distance travel in Japan by considering the social modal choice. Finally, its association with distance, income per capita, and population density in Japan is evaluated, and the results are compared with the case in the United Kingdom, France, and the United States. It was found that higher income per capita is associated with lower energy intensity for domestic long-distance travel in Japan. The relationship in Japan between OETI for domestic long-distance travel and traveled distance is observed as a U-shaped form.

Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Long-Distance Travel Business: How Far Can We Go?

Long-distance (LD) travel accounts for over 30% of person-trip miles, with important energy and emissions impact. LD business travel can often be replaced by remote participation, so targeting such trips for cost, time, and emissions savings may be a wise strategy for protection of the climate, budgets, and human health. To appreciate Americans’ LD travel choices better, a 73-question online survey was conducted in 2019 that captured 2,327 LD (over 100 mi each way) trips made by 929 respondents during the previous 12 months, of which 490 round trips were for business purposes. Predictive models for LD trips per adult per year, overnights, LD travel times, and willingness to participate remotely and/or purchase carbon offsets for those trips were developed using respondents in Austin only. As expected, those educated to degree level tend to travel more often, for both business and nonbusiness purposes; everything else is constant. People who undertake LD travel more frequently are more likely to spend less time in transit/en route. Single people or those from large households educated to degree level are more likely to be willing to pay for the carbon emissions produced by their flights. Out of the 298 LD business trips made by Austinites, remote participation is possible for approximately a quarter, and the respondents involved are willing to participate remotely in 44% of those trips. In other words, Austinites appeared willing to participate remotely in slightly over 10% of their business trips overall, at least before the COVID-19 pandemic. This is definitely not enough to address climate change concerns as a result of carbon emissions from LD travel.