Environmental impact

We assessed the carbon footprint of the conference based the responses of 16 in-person participants out of 34, using the tools offered by the Labo1point5 think tank, taking into account travels to the conference venue and meals.

The total carbon footprint of the conference amounts to

76.6 tCO2 or 2.25 tCO2 per in-person participant,

among which

• 13.0 tCO2 (0.38 pp) from the 3 offered lunches, and

• 62.6 tCO2 (1.82 pp) from travel.

The largest contribution comes from travels (83%) but it is worth noting that over 50% of the respondents indicated taking the opportunity of the conference to extend their stay in the area, either for professional or personal reasons. The carbon footprint is likely overestimated because the respondents do not make a representative sample of the geographical origin of all the participants: 64% of them came from North America, whereas only 30% of the overall in-person participants did. 

To reduce waste, all participants were encouraged to use re-usable cups for coffee breaks (they could bring their own or borrow one from the organisers) and all meals were taken at the campus' cafeteria. The restaurant where the conference dinner was held only proposes vegetarian meals, based on local and seasonal products.  

Additionally, the conference had a hybrid format, with 34 in-person and 24 online participants.