- Story
Smart travels
15.01.2025 Reducing greenhouse gases is the goal of many companies and organisations – including BFH. BFH professor Dr. René R. Schmidpeter shows how research activities can be combined with sustainable mobility.
In a nutshell
- With its Climate Roadmap 2030, the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) aims to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions - and mobility is one way of doing so.
- Sustainability researcher Prof. Dr. René R. Schmidpeter shows how this can be reconciled with internationally networked scientific work.
- For several years now, he has been consciously choosing and planning his journeys and has been taking the train instead of flying.
A climate-neutral university by 2030 - that is the goal of the BFH. With its Climate Roadmap 2030, the university has a clear roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It includes 30 measures, some of which relate to mobility. The BFH encourages its staff and students to use environmentally friendly means of transport when travelling on university business.
Our interview with Prof. Dr. René R. Schmidpeter, Professor of Sustainability Management at the BFH School of Business, shows what it means to work in research and teaching with as little air travel as possible. Since 2019, he has not taken a single flight for either private or professional reasons.
How did you come to stop flying?
At the beginning of the millennium, I lived globalization, with flights to the USA, India and China. But even before Corona, I realized that such trips should be well considered. On the one hand, because of the growing awareness of sustainability. On the other hand, because new technical possibilities for teleconferencing have emerged since then. And last but not least, the pandemic showed how quickly networks in which many flight hours have been invested can become obsolete due to geopolitical events.
Ultimately, it is a question of attitude: How do I deal with my time?
So how does it work, working as an internationally networked researcher without air travel?
It starts with the choice of conferences and networks where you want to get involved. It doesn't necessarily have to be overseas, Europe also has a lot to offer. For travel, I use the train whenever possible. And I consistently maintain shorter exchanges with video telephony.
Ultimately, it is also a question of attitude: How do I deal with my time? Do I accept every request? Do I maintain as many contacts as possible or do I concentrate on particularly good quality?
Important keyword: time. The train is slower than the plane ...
... but you can use the time on the train much better. Perhaps a somewhat extreme example is my trip to a conference in Cappadocia last year, which is a region in Central Anatolia. The drive there simply took 50 hours. I was able to use the time well to prepare for the conference.
I met interesting people and was able to conduct interviews for my research. It's a different, more conscious way of traveling. Acclimatization takes place on the trip. You arrive very differently than by plane.
It is not about ideological black-and-white thinking.
Nevertheless, a lot would be lost if air travel were to be completely abandoned.
That's right. Nor is it about ideological black-and-white thinking. For younger researchers in particular, long-distance travel provides important personal and professional experience. Such long journeys should simply be well considered. Combined with a longer research stay or additional experience on site, the flight may make more sense or even make sense at all.
Schmidpeter's tips for longer train journeys
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Take advantage of dead times: On paper, the travel time on the train is longer than on the plane. However, this is put into perspective if you plan the trip cleverly, for example by night train. Time on the train can also often be used better for work or reading than on the plane.
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Forming triangles: If you combine the trip to a conference with a detour for a working visit on the way back, you will benefit. Traveling in the triangle is more efficient than two separate round-trip trips.
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Research well: With night trains or private rail providers, there are often more options than you might think at first glance.
- Just give it a try: Even if not everything works out on the first trip and trains can of course be delayed – it's worth not giving up the first time, but gaining routine.
What are your next travel plans?
Next summer I might go to Lisbon, maybe with a stopover. I also don't rule out flying again at some point. But I have the ambition to avoid it as much as possible.
You don't have to limit yourself to the train. You can also get to North Africa, e.g. Tunis or an island, by ship or ferry. I enjoy exploring the possibilities of alternative travel and learning more about the respective countries and cultures.
