Mobility

Mobility is one of the themes in the sustainability and CSR policy of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and is therefore a permanent part of operational management. The ambition is to decrease CO2 emissions related to all WUR transport by at least 2% each year.

Mobility Plan 2030 describes the way WUR wants to achieve this. The practical implementation for the coming period is outlined in the Mobility Implementation Agenda 2018-2022. The key words for our sustainable mobility policy are: safe, healthy, sustainable, accessible, and future-focused. Decreased and more sustainable mobility means lower CO2 emissions, a decrease in particle emissions, lower noise pollution, an increase in general energy efficiency, no exhaustion of natural resources, and improved health.

Reducing transport movements and transitioning to more sustainable transport

The mobility policy primarily focuses on reducing transport movements: using a mix of digital tools makes work less time and place dependent. The transition to more sustainable transport is also encouraged: increased bicycle and train use, and decreased car and airplane use. A third point is improving the sustainability of fossil” transport, by measures aimed at an efficient, greener vehicle fleet, and the facilitation of electric transport.

A selection of the initiatives so far:

  • video conferencing to reduce transport movements, travel time, and CO2 emissions
  • installation of electric charging points for electric cars, e-bikes, and e-scooters
  • a bicycle scheme for staff members
  • additional cycle paths and bicycle parking on campus
  • creation of a bus lane with two extra bus stops on campus
  • regular mobility survey into commuter traffic among staff and students

A number of the abovementioned initiatives are included in the Mobility as a Service project, MaaS. This project aims to make a variety of sustainable travel solutions available for employees and – in some instances – students.

Wageningen University & Research is doing very well when it comes to cycling: 55% of the employees are cycling to work!

With regard to commuting, surveys show that over half (55%) of the employees travel by bicycle. Furthermore, 72% of students cycle to their study location. About 22% of students use public transport, while 6% of staff members use it to commute.

Mobility Wageningen University & Research

The makeup of our CO2 footprint

Transport movements are becoming an increasing part of the emissions in the CO2 footprint of WUR. This primarily involves the CO2 emissions from air travel, work commute, and trips taken using cars. The proportion of emissions by buildings decreased as a result of energy savings and the purchase of green electricity. In the reference year 2010, 16.6 kt of CO2 was related to mobility. This was 17% of the total 82.9 kt of emissions. In 2017, the mobility percentage was 45%: 18.2 kt of the total CO2 footprint of 40.7 kt.