Climate Action Barometer

We take a broad view of international education because we understand that no two institutions prioritise the same services or structure their international teams in the same way. Our signature (full) CAB measures climate action across seven core components:

• Staff engagement

• Student sentiment and engagement

• International marketing and recruitment

• Education abroad

• Transnational education

• Sectoral engagement and collaboration

• Emissions reduction and travel policy.

You complete an online survey and provide us with data about your staff travel and international students. You don’t need to survey students, and you should be able to answer most of the CAB questions using information you already have within your International Office or global team. There are a handful of questions where you will need to ask your sustainability team, but this is not a design flaw – it's a great way of sparking a conversation!

In our analysis and reporting process, all data is reported anonymously and conforms fully with data protection legislation.

It differs across different institutions, but most of our partners have a lead person from the International/Global team who often collaborates with their sustainability team colleagues.

In some cases, it’s the sustainability team that leads the way!

Our partners tell us it takes around the equivalent of one working day (spread across 6–8 weeks) to gather the responses for the full CAB survey, and around half a day for one of our more specialised CAB Focus surveys specialising in education abroad or TNE.

The time taken to complete the travel data component varies considerably depending on the quality and accessibility of your travel data.

Taking part in the CAB gives you a clearer understanding of where you are already doing good work and where you could do more. It gives you a framework for action, with tailored recommendations for practical next steps. Last but not least, it gives you access to resources, case studies and a supportive community of like-minded professionals to share with and learn from.

Our reporting is also important for reducing Scope 3 emissions as we know that international business travel, flight emissions for study abroad and for incoming students can amount to a significant proportion of a university’s overall footprint.