Studying abroad sustainably

As a student, you have the potential to shape the future. The UvA wants to lead the way in promoting sustainability through education and research, and we also want to become more sustainable as an organisation. It's good to be aware of your environmental footprint, including when going to study abroad.

Travel as sustainably as possible

A large part of our CO2 emissions are caused by air travel. Many flights are still made to destinations that are also easily accessible by more sustainable transport such as the train or bus.

Are you going to study within Europe? Then ask yourself the following questions:

• Why fly to a destination that can be reached by train within 8 hours? If the train is not possible, you can consider traveling by bus. If you're going with other people, you can also consider a car or electric car as a sustainable alternative.
• Even if your destination is more than 8 hours away, you can travel part of the way by train. The longer the journey, the more you reduce CO2 emissions when you travel by train.

Are you going to study outside Europe? Flying is then generally necessary. There is no such thing as a sustainable flight, but at least consider the following:

• If possible, take a direct flight. This results in lower CO2 emissions than multiple flights.
• Compensate your CO2 emissions with a reliable programme.
• See if you can travel with an airline that runs on biofuels and check the Dow Jones Sustainability Index to see which airlines pollute the least.

A sustainable stay abroad

Make sustainable choices once you have arrived in the country of destination:

• use public transport when exploring the country
• buy local food
• support local organisations

For more inspiration, check out the Green Erasmus+ Go Green E-zineExternal link.

Green Travel top-up

If you receive an Erasmus+ grant, a top-up is available if you use an environmentally friendly and sustainable mode of transport to travel (train, bus, carpooling) to the host country. The top-up is a one-off amount of €50. Since traveling sustainably sometimes takes a little longer, you can also receive up to 4 extra grant days (individual Erasmus+ support), so that the grant will also cover part of your travel time. More information, also regarding the application procedure, is available on Canvas after you've been selected for an Erasmus+ grant.

Collaboration with the UvA Green Office

We do everything we can to make our foreign programmes as sustainably as possible. For example, Erasmus+ works together with the Green Office of the UvAExternal link. The Green Office is a student initiative that aims to promote sustainability and bring it to the attention of students and staff.