“I love the train, so if it’s a practical option I would always be happy to.”
Leiden University is working hard on becoming more sustainable. Therefore, the university is considering updating its business travel policy so that academic staff members (specifically PhD candidates, postdocs,
assistant professors, associate professors, and full professors) travel more sustainably in the future. The Behavioural Insights Team Universiteit Leiden (BIT UL), which is part of the Leiden University Knowledge Centre Psychology and Economic Behaviour (KCPEG), was asked by Leiden University’s (LU) Sustainability Office to assess both the academic staff’s willingness to engage in more sustainable business-related international travel (i.e. reduce air travel) as well as the (behavioural) factors that drive their current business-related international travel behaviour. The research questions were answered by means of an online survey that was sent to the LU academic staff. The findings of this study contribute to the broader advice on the current travel policy that the LU Sustainability Office provides to the LU Administrative Office. In this report, we summarize the main findings of the study and provide the Sustainability Office with key recommendations for updating Leiden University’s business travel policy.
More detailed information about the study design, statistical analyses, and results are available on request (e-mail: dijkwvan@fsw.leidenuniv.nl).
Would you like to know more? We conducted a follow-up study in which we present the key findings aimed at assessing the effectiveness of three concrete policy options.
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