In 2024, the University of Cape Town continued to measure and report emissions from staff and student commuting as part of its institution-wide carbon management and Net Zero strategy. The 2024 "UCT Carbon Footprint Report" - compiled in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard—explicitly includes staff and student commuting within its Scope 3 emission categories. These emissions are tracked annually alongside electricity, travel, waste and other activities, and feed into UCT’s overarching target of Net Zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050, with Scope 3 (including commuting) monitored for mitigation alignment.
UCT’s 2024 inventory demonstrates that commuting emissions are a recognised and managed emissions source: they are quantified each year, benchmarked against prior years, and refined through periodic travel-survey updates and modal-share adjustments (e.g., shifts from train to taxi use). The report records a 15 percent decrease in commuting emissions between 2023 and 2024, partly due to updated emission factors and adjusted population data. Although a new 2024 staff-and-student travel survey achieved a limited sample size, the methodology was retained for consistency, and further surveys are planned to strengthen data accuracy. These practices show that UCT is actively monitoring, quantifying, and integrating commuting data into its institutional emissions management system and sustainability planning.
Evidence extracted directly from the 2024 Carbon Footprint Report
- Commuting measured as part of Scope 3 emissions
“Category 7: Employee Commute… Data is based on the UCT Information Systems survey undertaken in 2014… Figures are extrapolated to reflect the full UCT commuting population for each year. The modal % split is maintained from the original survey… UCT requested an adjustment in 2022 to reflect the general shift from staff and student commuting via train to commuting via taxi.”
→ ["UCT Carbon Footprint Report 2024", pp. 34–35] - Continuous annual monitoring and population-adjusted tracking
“Commuting Emissions are based on a survey taken in 2014. However, the data is updated based on the updated populations of students and staff commuting to and from campus… Total emissions decreased by 5% into 2023 … and decreased by a further 15% into 2024 partly due to emission factor updates.”
→ [ibid., p. 25] - Evidence of ongoing survey and data refinement
“UCT conducted a new survey of staff and students to obtain a more updated breakdown of travel to and from campus. Unfortunately, the response rate was low and could not provide a representative sample. As such, the previous method was used applying the modal % split from the original survey… Data quality would be greatly improved if a good representative sample were obtained in an updated survey.”
→ [ibid., p. 29–30] - Commuting explicitly included within the GHG Protocol boundary
“Carbon emissions were measured in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (WRI & WBCSD, 2004)… All Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions were included, and selected Scope 3 emissions were also included.”
→ [ibid., Appendix A, p. 30] - Net Zero target to which commuting data contributes
“UCT has set the following target: Net Zero emissions by 2050 (Scope 1 and 2).”
→ [ibid., Section 4 Targets, p. 26]
"UCT Carbon Footprint Report 2024"