Climate and Environment Policy
Throughout the preparations of the 16th ESIL conference we have, at all times, worked towards reducing our carbon footprint. The most important example is, without a doubt, the decision to organize a hybrid format conference with more than half of our participants joining digitally, which means they do not have to travel in order to participate. Of course, the pandemic played a major role in this decision, but we think it is a timely moment to develop the hybrid format for the conference. We hope that this format will be more widespread and common in the future and that we can contribute to this development.
A large carbon footprint from conferences of this scale comes from the food served. We have consistently opted for more environmentally friendly and low carbon alternatives. We have completely avoided meat, with the exception of fish. In most instances we have chosen to serve vegetarian and ecological alternatives, while allowing no compromise with regards to the quality of the food. Due to covid-considerations, however, the meals during the conference have to be served on disposable, yet recyclable plates.
As concerns conference products, the conference bag is a paper bag, and the brochure and the small notebook have been printed on environmentally certified paper, produced in Sweden from responsibly managed forests and labeled with the Nordic Swan (the official sustainability ecolabel for products from the Nordic countries). The brochure is also available as a pdf file. The conference bag does not include a pen, but there will be pens available for those who want.
For information about Stockholm University’s climate roadmap, see here.