The University of Pittsburgh offers a new resource to promote more sustainable travel: Pitt’s online travel booking tool, Concur, now displays carbon emissions information for all flight options, showing the pounds of CO2 for each trip.

Air travel accounted for 21.1% of the University’s emissions before the pandemic, so reducing that number is an important part of Pitt’s achievement of carbon neutrality by 2037.

“TThis new feature empowers travelers to make informed decisions when booking travel, and it reflects the commitment we have at Purchase, Pay & Travel to work closely with Pitt Sustainability and the Pitt community to support sustainability initiatives. sustainable development,” said Maureen Beal, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Financial Operations.

Concur’s carbon emissions feature will help the University centrally track this emissions data, while the same data for flights booked outside of Concur, such as through airlines or third-party sites, cannot be tracked centrally. Concur’s new feature will also help each department develop its own internal goals and strategies to reduce emissions from air travel while ensuring University travelers have access to reduced ticket prices and support from convenient travel when needed, all in one place.

“New Concur data on flight-related carbon emissions allows the University to centrally track and report this information. Accurate information is critical to understanding our true impact and making progress toward our established sustainability goals, including carbon neutrality by 2037,” said Aurora Sharrard, executive director of sustainability at Pitt.

The program is one of many included in the Pitt Climate Action Planthe Pitt Sustainability Plan and other University initiatives to create a bright and prosperous future for all. Every Pitt student and employee makes a different local, national, and international contribution to our collective travel-related carbon impact. According to University requirements, the greenhouse gas impacts of air travel vary widely in our community. As we embark on this journey together, members of the Pitt community will continue to find the balance between in-person and virtual connections and make important travel decisions that will help us achieve our carbon neutral goals.

Visit the Buy, Pay and Travel website for more details on Concur’s carbon function and supplier sustainability efforts, as well as the Travel and Expense Management program and suppliers under university-wide contract to plan a virtual or hybrid conference or event.