Eco-friendly Scientific Conferences

Veronica Irvin, PhD, MPH¹

Climate change and health has been one of SBM's policy advocacy priority areas since spring 2022. SBM continues to take actions to limit our environmental impact specifically at our in-person events.  

How did SBM conference attendees reduce their environmental impact at last year’s annual conference in Phoenix?  From the end of conference survey, we learned that almost everyone engaged in easier strategies such as turning off lights when not in hotel room, limiting water in hotel room, or walking to lunch or dinner instead of taking a car. Thanks to announcements ahead of the conference, over three-quarters brought a re-usable coffee cup or water bottle and declined a printed program. When it came to our consumption, over one-half ordered locally sourced foods and one-third limited single use plastics.

SBM considers conference hotel sites based in part on the property's sustainability effort. This year, our conference hotel is reducing landfill usage by removing all single-use bathroom amenities and using locally-sourced food items when possible, offering plant-based menu options, and looking into composting opportunities.

How can you be rewarded and help the environment at this year’s conference?  Decline a printed program, bring your own water bottle (and coffee cup!), avoid single-use plastics, turn off lights/heat/AC when not in your room, order locally-source and plant-based food, walk or take mass transit while in Philadelphia. Log your activities during the event and three winners will be randomly selected for a waived 2025 meeting registration or a $50 gift card. Let others know you are doing your part to help the environment by tweeting and posting using the hashtag #SBM2024 https://www.sbm.org/meetings/conference-environmental-responsibility

What can we do better at in-person conferences? Reduce carbon emissions from our air travel which can be achieved by booking low-carbon flight or alternative non-flight travel and selecting conference venues where many attendees could join without taking an airplane. Choose restaurants based on their options of plant-based and non-meat food, their actions to minimize their environmental impact (like no single use plastics), and their locations that do not require a car to get there.

Want to provide input about future conferences?  Our members have voiced ideas on eco-friendly conferences such as rotating annual conferences between in-person and remote, or doing away with conference swag, or providing incentives and education to book low-carbon flights.  Hear from others and share your ideas at the upcoming virtual workshop hosted by the National Institutes of Health  The Future of Scientific Conferencing on June 6, 7, and 11.

Affiliation

1. Associate Professor and the Celia Strickland Austin and G. Kenneth Austin III Endowed Professor in Public Health, Oregon State University, College of Health