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.
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.
All of UCT’s campuses have been designed and function as highly pedestrianized campuses, with very prominent pedestrian pathways and vehicle slowing mechanisms throughout. The university operates a daily shuttle bus service between all campuses and student residences. This is a free service for all students and staff and greatly reduces car-dependency, especially for residence students.
The university also has an Integrated Development Framework that sets out long term plans for a campus that is even more walkable than it currently is, also limiting number of parking bays or even on some campuses (Upper Campus) planning to remove parking off the campus to proposed structured parking buildings to make the campus even more walkable.
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 the UCT Shuttle contributes
“UCT has set the following target: Net Zero emissions by 2050 (Scope 1 and 2).”
→ [ibid., Section 4 Targets, p. 26] - the UCT Shuttle is part of scope 1 emissions that are measured and reported on every year. UCT has done a detailed feasibility on converting the bus fleet to an electrical fleet but has determined that this is not feasible under current market conditions where there is not enough of an electric bus market in South Africa yet to make the service viable. A pilot project is thus being proposed to test the feasibility further via one electric bus – UCT has been in negotiations since 2024 with their new bus service provider regarding the proposed pilot project but has not been able to start the pilot project yet.
"UCT Carbon Footprint Report 2024"