Commuting survey guide and tool
Emission tool updated September 2025 with latest conversion factors
EAUC has published the highly anticipated Commuting Survey Guide and Tool (2024). This resource follows on from the Business Travel Guide for the Further and Higher Education Sector and The Domestic and International Student Relocation Travel Emissions Calculator Tool. Whilst developed by EAUC Scotland, this resource is relevant to UK and Ireland organisations.
This resource package is aimed at creating a standard baseline for post-16 education sector organisations to report on their staff and student commuting emissions. Commuting emissions are those that are formed from the transportation of someone from their term-time (student) or full-time (staff) residence to their ordinary place of study or work. Organisations can choose to keep it simple and only report on these suggested areas or incorporate these questions into their pre-existing, longer surveys.
This resource package provides:
- Guidance on:
- How commuting relates to health, the cost-of-living crisis, social mobility, the Sustainable Development Goals and net zero ambitions.
- The Scottish policy context and reporting obligations.
- The main objectives of recording and reporting commuting emissions.
- How travel surveys can accomplish other organisational aims.
- Common pitfalls of wording and timing of surveys and lessons learned.
- Data quality and maturity.
- A baseline commuting survey template in Microsoft Forms that can easily be duplicated and modified to your own organisation’s needs.
- A commuting emissions calculator tool and user guide for automating the data analysis process and creating a simple and efficient results summary without the need for external consultants.
- Suggested advanced survey questions if you want to take your survey to the next level.
- Signposting to further resources from EAUC, the post-16 education sector and other best practice organisations.
These resources align with the statutory requirements for the Scottish Government’s Public Bodies Climate Change Duties (PBCCD) reports, the Standardised Carbon Emissions Framework (SCEF) and the Climate Action Roadmap for FE Colleges.
These resources have been developed by and delivered as part of EAUC Scotland’s Step-Change for Sustainability programme (year 2), funded by the Scottish Funding Council.
Note: This guidance does not cover business travel or relocation travel emissions. Guidance has been released about this previously in the form of the Business Travel Guide for Further and Higher Education and The Domestic and International Student Relocation Travel Emissions Calculator Tool.
Please download the resources and watch the Emissions Calculator Tool - User Walkthrough video at the links below.
