REDUCING THE CONFERENCE CARBON FOOTPRINT

The SER International Conference Organising Committee is dedicated to reducing the environmental impacts of the conference through an innovative and real-value alternative for offsetting significant components of a delegate’s carbon footprint.

What the Conference Organising Committee is doing to reduce delegate’s carbon footprint?

banksia

Banksia menziesiiAll too often, conference delegates are asked to provide funds to a carbon offset business enterprise, with little connection to where and how the offset plantings will occur. The Conference Organising Committee are committed to ensuring that real-value carbon offsets are in-built into the conference carbon budget.

For each and every delegate, the host organisation – Kings Park and Botanic Garden (Botanic Garden and Parks Authority), who is responsible for managing over 700 hectares of urban woodland in inner metropolitan Perth, will plant seedlings of the key woodland trees, Banksia attenuata, B. menziesii, Eucalyptus gompohocephala and Corymbia calophylla. Kings Park and Botanic Garden has specially arranged for plantings of over 5500 seedlings as a sponsorship of the SER International Conference.

The trees will sequester an anticipated 400 tonnes* of carbon generated by travel and accommodation averaged across each and every delegate. Kings Park and Botanic Garden staff will undertake the planting and depending on the growing season, delegates may have the opportunity to assist in the planting program.

seed-collection

Co-ordination of seed collection Unlike other carbon offset packages, these plantings represent both biodiversity and restoration benefits as the trees are an integral part of the on-going conservation and ecological enhancement of the urban woodland areas under the control of Kings Park and Botanic Garden.

 

The Conference Oganising Committee wish to acknowledge this generous sponsorship and gesture by Kings Park and Botanic Garden, who are committed to a more sustainable and ecological sound environment.

What delegates can do to further reduce the carbon footprint?

  • Where possible, choose direct flights to the conference Cleaning and sorting the seed.
  • Walk or catch a bus to the conference venue as it is in walking distance of most selected hotels.
  • Keep an eye out for the recycling bins throughout the venue, and dispose of waste thoughtfully throughout the conference.
  • Where available collect exhibitor information electronically i.e. preferably.
  • Recycle all name tags and lanyards – keep an eye out for special recycling bins on the final day of the conference.

What exhibitors can do to further reduce the carbon footprint?

  • Condense the number of materials you bring to the conference.
  • The Bold Park woodland where plantings will occurMake your information available to delegates electronically.
  • Where possible, provide recycled or consumable products as giveaways.
  • Use the recycling bins provided at the venue.
    As Perth supplements its water supply with energy hungry desalinators, please minimise your water use wherever possible.
  • Share rides and taxis – the conference will set up a “Connecting with Delegates” board for those wishing to car or taxi-pool.

Note:

* The CO2 footprint calculation has been based on 500 delegates with 400 medium haul flights, 100 long haul flights, 50 cars based on a 200 km journey, and 2000 hotel rooms nights for the conference

* It is anticipated that 6-7 trees are required to offset 1 tonne of CO2 in the target environment, however the organising committee has planned to plant ~ 12 plants to offset 1 tonne of CO2 to account for species growth variation and survival.