The University of Oslo aims to engage with global, national and local environmental and climate challenges through relevant research and education and through the sustainable running of the university. ISS' guidelines complement the University's overall strategy to reduce emissions and thus contribute to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.
The Department of Sociology and Human Geography (ISS) will support each staff member's efforts to develop sustainable practices in teaching and research. These guidelines require the department to work to reduce emissions resulting from its activities. Members of staff are encouraged to take climate considerations into account in their work, not least when it comes to travel.
The Department of Sociology and Human Geography has a strategic goal of reducing its climate footprint. ISS must therefore:
- Reduce the volume of flights.
- As a general rule, trial lectures and job interviews should be conducted digitally when there are international applicants. Exceptions can be made for applicants for permanent positions that have the highest rankings.
- Arrange hybrid and digital disputations when this is preferable.
- Avoid inviting speakers who have to travel by plane for only one event. Alternatives are digital participation, use of speakers from the local community, utilizing land-based travel, and planning longer stays for international guests.
- Investigate the establishment of a climate fund where money saved by conducting events digitally can be used to support events in the local community and land-based travel.
- Internal seminars will be held locally and with good access to sustainable transport.
- Actively facilitate the planning of internal seminars, meetings and social events in a way that minimizes the climate footprint.
- When serving, request and order food that is local, sustainable and with emphasis on vegetarian / vegan dishes.
- Actively assess energy consumption and climate consequences when making plans for the use of buildings, technology, procurement, teaching and meeting facilities.
- Facilitate a good infrastructure for digital meetings and events.
- Inform students and staff about the department's climate strategy and guidelines.
- Promote the department's own climate-oriented research and teaching activities.
In order to achieve the goal of reducing ISS’ climate footprint staff must contribute, and ISS must support staff members who want to make climate-wise choices in their work. At the same time, ISS as an employer must be aware that different employees have different needs related to their family and health situation in the implementation of the department’s climate strategy.
Here is a simple checklist of questions to think about when planning trips and events:
- Is this flight necessary, or are land-based travel or digital participation an option?
- If the flight is necessary, how can I minimize the total emissions?
- Can the trip combine several objectives, so that the total number of trips is smaller
- Can I choose a route with fewer stopovers?
- Can I choose an airline that has modern low-emission aircraft?
- Are there conferences that provide almost as good a benefit and are geographically closer?
- Can I organize project work in a way that makes it easier for partners to participate digitally? Maybe not every time, but more often?
- Can I arrange project meetings to locations that minimize the total travel distance for participants?