Travel
Canterbury High Country. Image – Grant Hunter.
Travel is an integral part of our operations – for fieldwork, scientific conferences, stakeholder meetings and workshops, and to manage operations across our multi-site organisation and help ensure staff feel connected to our organisation and culture. Participating in national and international conferences and workshops is an essential aspect of developing professional excellence and staying at the forefront of fields of expertise. We collaborate extensively with overseas research organisations. Collaboration with overseas counterparts creates extensive opportunities for science that could benefit New Zealand as well as access to a range of technology and expertise that is not available in New Zealand. Hence managing our travel involves balancing the travel footprint against the benefits to science and to New Zealand.
For 2015/16 (data excludes tenants and our subsidiary):
- Total domestic air travel (1,514, 679 km) was 8% below the previous year. Domestic air travel per $m ($26,620) was 10% under target.
- Total international air travel, including Antarctica, (2,272,267 km) was down by 33% compared to the previous year and was the lowest since recording began. International travel per $m ($39,934) was 35% under target.
Travel (000s km) (excludes subsidiary companies and tenants)
| Year ending 30 June | Motor vehicles | Domestic Air | International Air |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1,320 | 1277 | 3400 |
| 1997 | 1,420 | 1547 | 3400 |
| 1998 | 1,220 | 1477 | 3380 |
| 1999 | 1,100 | 1547 | 3430 |
| 2000 | 1,018 | 1588 | 3450 |
| 2001 | 1,036 | 1397 | 3280 |
| 2002 | 990 | 1765 | 4443 |
| 2003 | 967 | 1661 | 4205 |
| 2004 | 894 | 1963 | 3775 |
| 2005 | 860 | 1855 | 4395 |
| 2006 | 810 | 2038 | 5202 |
| 2007 | 735 | 2095 | 3665 |
| 2008 | 658 | 2061 | 3332 |
| 2009 | 594 | 1826 | 3687 |
| 2010 | 596 | 1803 | 3722 |
| 2011 | 628 | 2131 | 4615 |
| 2012 | 889 | 1957 | 3209 |
| 2013 | 590 | 1620 | 3105 |
| 2014 | 480 | 1354 | 2471 |
| 2015 | 516 | 1655 | 3623 |
| 2016 | 402 | 1514 | 2272 |
Skype for Business
Skype for Business continues to play a pivotal role in reducing our air travel. The successful rollout of MS Lync on all PCs has contributed to our reduced air travel this year. It's immediacy and ease of use has seen it ready adoption by staff as it enables face-to-face discussion and formal and informal meetings between Landcare Research staff and with external parties without having to leave one’s desk. Our use of Skype for Business continues to grow as many of our stakeholder partners, facilitating online meetings and informal discussions rather than travelling to meet in person.
We are in the process of removing our access to our videoconferencing capability, via the ultrafast Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network (KAREN), as our collaborative partners also move to Skype for Business.