Sustainable travelling
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Travel by train
Trains have a significantly lower carbon footprint than planes. Platforms such as ‘Interrail’ or ‘Eurail’ offer cheap options for longer train journeys in Europe.
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Interrail Pass for Erasmus+
Erasmus+ participants can purchase the Interrail Pass for Erasmus+. Here, 4 or 6 travel days can be used within 6 months.
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Environmentally friendly travel also for shorter visits
If you are coming to Vienna for a visit during your stay abroad, or are receiving visitors from Vienna, an environmentally friendly journey to and from Vienna may also be an option.
Green Mobility
The promotion of sustainability is one of the priorities of the Erasmus+ programme.
Information on financial support for environmentally friendly travel during an Erasmus+ stay can be found on the website regarding financial matters of the respective programme (e.g. Erasmus+ Student Exchange, Erasmus+ Traineeship).
In addition, you will find suggestions on this page to make your stay abroad (through Erasmus+ or a different programme) more sustainable:
Sustainable stay in the host country
Local mobility and sustainability initiatives
Find out about local public transport in your host country and about bike sharing services. It may be worth buying a second-hand bike locally for your stay abroad in order to be mobile in a cheap and environmentally friendly way. Many European cities offer bike rental systems or cheap monthly tickets for local public transport. Ask your host university about this too!
Many universities and cities offer projects or initiatives on environmental protection and sustainability that you can get involved in. It is best to find out more directly on the website of your host university.
Avoid single-use plastic
Try to use reusable bottles, bags and containers to avoid waste. You can also bring these directly from home to your host country.
You can also find inspiration here: zerowasteeurope.eu
Green Erasmus website
The Green Erasmus website helps you to make sustainable choices during your stay abroad. You will find information on sustainable transportation, accommodation options and more: https://www.greenerasmus.org/
Climate footprint and handprint
The footprint shows how your personal lifestyle affects the climate. It can be calculated, for example, using the footprint calculator for Austria from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Climate Protection, Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management. Questions about the four areas of life – nutrition, housing, mobility, and consumption – provide you with an estimate of your ecological and carbon footprint.
Your Climate Handprint expresses your positive impact on climate protection. You can increase your personal handprint by taking climate-friendly actions yourself. You can have an even greater positive impact by motivating others to take climate-friendly actions, for example, by making suggestions to your friends, at university, at your employer, or where you live. The more people you reach, the larger your personal handprint becomes.