Sustainability Master Plan 2025

TRANSPORTATION

GOAL: Advance the use of sustainable transportation systems and options to reduce the carbon impact of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ students, faculty and staff.

 

 

STRATEGIES

Progress updates for year 1 are below.

Actions for each strategy have been identified and will be prioritized on an annual basis by the implementation team.

S1 Fleet: Increase the number of vehicles with a sustainable fuel source in the campus fleet to 15% by 2030 and 25% by 2035.

  • 7% of the campus fleet has a sustainable fuel source.
7%
15%

S2 Commuting: Increase the percentage of the campus community that uses sustainable commuting options as their primary mode of transportation to 85% for students and 15% for faculty and staff by 2035, while ensuring safe, accessible and convenient non-vehicle transportation (e.g., walking, biking, etc.).

  • The most recent commuter habit survey (fall 2023) indicates that 74% of students utilize more sustainable commuting options as their primary mode of transportation to and from campus.
74%
85%
  • This survey also indicates that 11% of faculty and staff utilize more sustainable commuting options as their primary mode of transportation to and from campus.
11%
15%
  • The next commuter habit survey will be conducted in fall 2026.

S3 Business Travel: Increase awareness and utilization of lower carbon transportation options for directly financed university travel to reduce carbon emissions from this source by 20% by 2035 compared to a 2024 baseline.

  • The team is researching best practices for sharing information with faculty and staff regarding lower carbon transportation options.
  • Emissions from directly financed university travel increased 16% in FY 2025, compared to the FY 2024 baseline.

S4 Global Travel: Continue to mitigate the carbon impact of global engagement travel through the Carbon Neutral Global Engagement Initiative and provide annual educational opportunities for ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ faculty, staff and students participating in global travel.

  • In accordance with the Carbon Neutral Global Engagement Initiative, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ purchased verified carbon offsets from two North Carolina landfill gas destruction projects and an Ohio refrigerant destruction project to mitigate the impact of FY 2026 global engagement travel.
  • A faculty and staff lunch-n-learn session was held in March 2026 on Integrating Sustainability into Study Away Experiences.
  • In fall 2025, a Study Away More Sustainably session was offered for students traveling abroad during winter term or spring semester 2026.