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Our first in-person Workshop for 2022 and its sustainability touches

5 May 2022
After two years of no in-person events we had our first Workshop. Between 3 and 6 April the ‘Cell Size and Growth, From Single Cells to the Tree of Life’ Workshop took place in East Sussex, UK. Interesting presentations, in-depth discussions, tasty desserts, and fun conversations in the orangery, the Workshop had it all. You can read more about it in our recent story.

Creating a paperless event

24 March 2022

When planning an event there are many areas that we choose to organise based on previous successful practices. Using paper in some areas of an event such as programmes, tickets, handouts, etc. has been quite common. But although paper can be recycled, it is more environmentally and sometimes budget friendly to avoid using it in the first place. Thanks to technology it’s now easier to go paperless.

Are hybrid meetings the best of both worlds?

13 January 2022

This blog is written by Alastair Downie, Head of IT at The Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, who has been kind enough to share his thoughts on hybrid meetings.

Meeting Owls and Poster Bots

13 October 2021

We are looking forward to starting a discussion on hybrid events and the related new technologies. In this post, Alastair Downie, Head of IT at the Gurdon Institute and Director at The Company of Biologists shares his thoughts.

Minimising your event’s food footprint and waste

3 June 2021

The impact of food waste is not only financial but also includes the energy, fuel and water used to grow food that may not be used. When food waste is sent to landfill it further contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. A research conducted throughout the foodservice industry uncovered that1:

Earth Day 2022

22 April 2022

Every year on 22 April, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. There are various ways of joining and celebrating the day, you can become a member or create an event. To learn more about Earth Day and how you can contribute to the cause you should visit the dedicated website.

Principles of event sustainability

16 March 2022

The impact of the events industry on the environment was recognised a while ago. Lots of different steps have been taken to minimise it, but in the past couple of years the pandemic has changed the way events were organised.

Why you should choose a train journey instead of a flight

21 October 2021

Emissions from travelling are a significant component of an event’s footprint. There are multiple factors that influence the total number of these emissions such as location, number of attendees, weather, individual behaviours, and others. Two of the most commonly used transportation modes for event attendees are the aeroplane and the train. Of course, the use of the one does not exclude the use of the other for the same trip.

Looking into hybrid events: the benefits

24 June 2021

When considering all the elements of an in-person event, from catering to material waste and from travelling to accommodation, the greenhouse gas emissions add up quickly. A 2019 report from Hope Solutions showed that the UK events industry emits 1.2bn kg of CO2e every year. It is clear that an in-person event has a significant environmental impact.

Digital carbon footprint and virtual events

6 May 2021

As we discussed in one of our previous blogs, Which areas contribute the most to an event’s footprint?, the main areas that contribute to an in-person event’s footprint are travel, food, materials and waste. This was estimated to be over 170 kilograms of CO2 emissions per day for an average conference attendee. A similar online conference would have a significantly smaller carbon footprint, but not zero.

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