This evolution is part of the Plan AVENIRS, the institution's Sustainable Development and Societal Responsibility (DD-RSE) strategic plan. Business travel, which has a significant environmental impact, is a key target for reducing the University's greenhouse gas emissions. Each year, approximately 6,000 missions are carried out, mainly in France. While trains are already widely used, air travel accounts for 96% of emissions for only 17% of trips.
Faced with this reality, the University is adapting its practices to limit the most polluting travel. The new travel policy is based on several principles: questioning the necessity of each trip, prioritizing trains for journeys under six hours, and better managing the use of individual cars.
It also aims to reconcile the reduction of environmental impact with travel conditions adapted to professional needs, including provisions for individual constraints and situations of disability.
This collective initiative, prepared in 2025 as part of the Plan AVENIRS with the participation of the university community, is also part of a broader dynamic across the Lyon Saint-Étienne region for decarbonizing business travel.
