![](https://www.buas.nl/sites/default/files/styles/header_slider_default/public/Interim.jpg?h=25f502c3&itok=nOQ0RgcM) # ODECART

 

 

 

 **The ODECART project develops an evidence-based decision-making framework to determine when academic air travel is truly necessary, helping Dutch universities make fair, consistent, and climate-aware travel decisions.**

### What was the goal of this research?

Academic air travel is a major and poorly governed source of greenhouse gas emissions at Dutch universities. While most institutions have travel policies, assessments of flight necessity rely largely on individual judgement, making decisions subjective and inconsistent. ODECART addresses this gap by developing a transparent, standardised instrument that objectively assesses whether air travel is necessary for a given academic purpose, such as a conference, project meeting, or fieldwork trip. The project combines environmental, organisational, societal, and individual considerations into a single decision-support tool, designed to prevent unnecessary flights before emissions occur.

### What method was employed?

ODECART combines four interrelated tasks. First, a targeted literature review and analysis of existing university travel policies, complemented by stakeholder interviews with academic staff, PhD students, researchers, and section leads, from BUas and TU Delft. These inputs define the decision criteria and underpin a holistic conceptual framework. The framework is then translated into a prototype decision-support instrument, which is tested retrospectively against past travel decisions and piloted in real conditions across at least two academies at both institutions. User feedback on practicality, clarity, and trustworthiness informs a final, validated instrument ready for broader adoption.

### Who is the Project Team?

- BUas (Dr. Nina Nestrova, Dr. Jeroen Klijs, Dr. Elly Khademi, and Anna Koens)
- TU Delft (Prof. Andy van den Dobbelsteen, Lola Jofriet)
- The Overview Effect (Lena Hulsmann, Stan van Toor)

### What is the timeline of this project?

September 2026 - August 2027

### Who is our main collaborating partner?

TU Delft and The Overview Effect

### Who is our funding partner?

This project is funded by NWO (Dutch Research Council) under the Sustainable Science Fund.

 

 

 





 

 

 ### Get in touch

    ![](https://www.buas.nl/sites/default/files/styles/free_gemiddeld_wysiwyg/public/2023-03/Nina.jpg?itok=0hYZ1NW-) 

  
Nina Nesterova  
[nesterova.N@buas.nl](mailto:nesterova.n@buas.nl)