University-wide Procedure for KTH’s Carbon Budget

PROCEDURE

Decision-maker: Head of Sustainability
Effective from: 1 January 2026
Amended from: 1 January 2026
Reference number: HS-2025-2970
Responsible department: KTH Sustainability Office (KTH SO)

1. Purpose

The purpose of this procedure is to describe how KTH’s carbon budget for air travel is implemented and monitored within the framework of the environmental management system. The procedure operationalises KTH’s climate targets and aims to ensure that emission reductions are achieved in line with the Paris Agreement.

In accordance with commitments and applicable laws and regulations, KTH shall promote sustainable development that guarantees present and future generations a healthy environment, economic and social welfare, and equity.

2. Scope/delimitation

KTH’s carbon budget covers greenhouse gas emissions from air travel funded by KTH, both internal and external trips. The carbon budget applies to all organisational units at KTH.

3. Definitions

CO₂e
Carbon dioxide equivalents, a metric for comparing emissions of different greenhouse gases.

Carbon Budget
A scientifically based allocation of the total amount of emissions (in carbon dioxide equivalents) permitted during a specific time period to remain within established climate targets.

Visualisation Tool
System support for monitoring and analysing KTH’s emissions and carbon budget.

Organisational Unit
Within a school, this refers to departments and divisions; within administrative support, this refers to departments, units, and groups as defined by the line organisation.

Manager
For the purposes of this procedure, refers to the approving manager in the financial system.

4. Responsibilities

Responsibility for KTH’s carbon budget follows the line organisation in accordance with KTH’s delegation of authority, as outlined below:

• President: Overall responsibility for ensuring KTH complies with its total carbon budget.

• University Director: Responsible for ensuring administrative support complies with its total carbon budget.

• Head of School: Responsible for ensuring the school complies with its total carbon budget.

• Manager: Responsible for ensuring the organisational unit remains within its allocated carbon budget. This includes planning and monitoring travel and other relevant activities in line with established principles and limits.

• Head of Sustainability: Overall responsibility within KTH for monitoring and developing the visualisation tool and work related to the carbon budget.

• School's Office: Coordination responsibility for the carbon budget within the school.

• KTH SO: Coordination responsibility for the carbon budget within administrative support.

• Employees: Responsible for contributing to reduced negative climate impact.

5. Implementation

KTH’s internal carbon budget follows an established process as outlined below:

5.1 Allocation of Carbon Budget

Each organisational unit is allocated an annual carbon budget based on 2019 emission levels, reduced by 8% per year. The budget is distributed in kg CO₂e per full-time equivalent.

5.2 Planning, Implementation and Monitoring

Planning, implementation, and monitoring of the carbon budget shall take place within each organisational unit. Managers shall take measures to ensure their unit acts in line with KTH’s carbon budget.

Heads of departments within schools and heads of division within University Administration support shall report annually in at School and University Administration management meetings and in their respective action plans. Monitoring occurs during the President’s operational dialogue with schools and administrative support.

Schools and University Administration should report:

• Budget performance and deviations

• Actions taken and planned

• Need for support

• Other comments, lessons learned and good examples

5.3 Coordination and Support

• Head of department at Schools Office and KTH SO coordinate work on the carbon budget within schools and University Administration.

• The visualisation tool is used to support monitoring, analysis and prioritisation of actions. Access is determined by organisational affiliation.

5.4 Documentation

• Documentation is recorded in the action plan prior to management review and in the minutes, and archived in accordance with applicable routines.

6. External Reporting and Indicators

Results are reported annually to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and in the annual report to the government.

Indicators:

• CO₂e emissions from air travel per full-time equivalent and broken down by organisational unit.

• CO₂e emissions from air travel in relation to KTH’s internal carbon budget.

• Proportion of KTH’s organisational units that remain within their allocated carbon budget.

7. Documentation

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8. Appendices

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9. Change Log