Mobility: Students and staff traveling in an increasingly climate-friendly manner

Good news for the environment and Lüneburg: 85 percent of students travel to Leuphana University on foot, by bicycle, train, or bus during the summer semester; even in the winter semester, despite cooler temperatures, the figure is still a substantial 84 percent. The most important mode of transport is the bicycle, followed by walking.

Sixty-three percent of employees also commute sustainably, compared to 61 percent in the winter semester. For the first time, bicycles—including e-bikes—have overtaken cars. The Sustainability Office collects data on mobility every five years. Compared to the last survey in 2020, the proportion of cars has decreased significantly.

While short distances are mainly covered on foot or by bicycle, cars and trains dominate for longer distances. Cars cause the highest emissions per capita. Employees average 515 kilograms of CO₂ equivalents per year, while students average 299 kilograms – mainly due to longer commutes and more frequent car trips.

The high proportion of public transport is also striking: buses and trains account for around 1,300 tons of CO₂ equivalents, particularly regional transport from the Hamburg area. “This is not an indication of poor mobility decisions, but rather a reflection of the large number of commuters. Without these modes of transport, emissions would be significantly higher,” explains sustainability officer Irmhild Brüggen.

A comparison with the city of Lüneburg highlights the special situation of the campus. While around two-thirds of all journeys in the city are made by car, the proportion of car journeys at the university is just under a quarter. Cycling accounts for over 40 percent of journeys here.

The modal split analysis thus shows two things: On the one hand, the university is already a place of extremely sustainable mobility. On the other hand, the greatest potential for further CO₂ reductions lies less in individual renunciation than in structural expansion – for example, through reliable bus connections, better coordination with regional transport, and an even safer cycling infrastructure. “For years, I have been advocating for beautiful cycle paths that would make sustainable mobility attractive to even more people,” explains Prof. Dr. Peter Pez. The geographer is providing scientific support for the study.

The university's service vehicles have already been converted to two electric cars and four electric cargo bikes, all of which are powered by green electricity. Only three still run on combustion engines and emitted just 4.9 tons of CO₂ equivalents last year. “But this figure is continuing to fall as the switch to electric vehicles progresses,” explains Irmhild Brüggen. Leuphana also performs well in terms of indirect emissions from purchased electricity and heat: thanks to a climate-friendly energy supply, these are negligible in the balance sheet.

However, the largest emission item is found in an area that is less obvious: Scope 3 emissions include all indirect emissions that cannot be directly controlled but must nevertheless be accounted for – including paper consumption, waste, wastewater, and, above all, the commuting mobility of students and employees.