Sustainability Master Plan 2025

TRANSPORTATION

GOAL: Advance the use of sustainable transportation systems and options to reduce the carbon impact of Elon students, faculty and staff.

 

 

STRATEGIES

Progress updates for year 1 are below.

Actions for each strategy have been identified and will be prioritized on an annual basis by the implementation team.

S1 Fleet: Increase the number of vehicles with a sustainable fuel source in the campus fleet to 15% by 2030 and 25% by 2035.

  • 7% of the campus fleet has a sustainable fuel source.
7%
15%

S2 Commuting: Increase the percentage of the campus community that uses sustainable commuting options as their primary mode of transportation to 85% for students and 15% for faculty and staff by 2035, while ensuring safe, accessible and convenient non-vehicle transportation (e.g., walking, biking, etc.).

  • The most recent commuter habit survey (fall 2023) indicates that 74% of students utilize more sustainable commuting options as their primary mode of transportation to and from campus.
74%
85%
  • This survey also indicates that 11% of faculty and staff utilize more sustainable commuting options as their primary mode of transportation to and from campus.
11%
15%
  • The next commuter habit survey will be conducted in fall 2026.

S3 Business Travel: Increase awareness and utilization of lower carbon transportation options for directly financed university travel to reduce carbon emissions from this source by 20% by 2035 compared to a 2024 baseline.

  • The team is researching best practices for sharing information with faculty and staff regarding lower carbon transportation options.
  • Emissions from directly financed university travel increased 16% in FY 2025, compared to the FY 2024 baseline.

S4 Global Travel: Continue to mitigate the carbon impact of global engagement travel through the Carbon Neutral Global Engagement Initiative and provide annual educational opportunities for Elon faculty, staff and students participating in global travel.

  • In accordance with the Carbon Neutral Global Engagement Initiative, Elon purchased verified carbon offsets from two North Carolina landfill gas destruction projects and an Ohio refrigerant destruction project to mitigate the impact of FY 2026 global engagement travel.
  • A faculty and staff lunch-n-learn session was held in March 2026 on Integrating Sustainability into Study Away Experiences.
  • In fall 2025, a Study Away More Sustainably session was offered for students traveling abroad during winter term or spring semester 2026.