Carbon footprint report from 2013 EAUC Annual Conference

For the first time ever and with all due thanks to our partners - Greenstone Carbon Management and SITA UK - we are proud to be able to report on the carbon footprint of the 2013 EAUC Annual Conference! We are very encouraged by the results and believe it reads extremely positively. Whilst there is always room for improvement, these findings are encouraging and help us to focus on any areas where improvements can be made for future planning and execution of events.

Data was collected for five emission sources: energy, water, waste, travel, and accommodation. The energy and water data was provided by the East Midlands Conference Centre. EAUC partner SITA UK, provided the recycling facilities for conference and the waste data. The travel and accommodation data was collected directly from the delegates and exhibitors who attended the conference. Delegates completed an online questionnaire prior to the conference and Greenstone Carbon Management used these responses to calculate the emissions associated with travel to and from the conference.

This report provides an overview of the total emissions, followed by a more in depth look at the emissions from energy, water, waste, accommodation, and travel.

Key stats:

• The carbon emissions from recycled waste from the Conference was 34 kg CO2e.
• The total recycled waste generated by the conference was 32.5kg. This is considerably less than the average amount of recyclable waste for a similar size conference, which is 1,500kg according to SITA UK.
• Rail travel accounted for over half of the total distance people travelled to attend the conference, yet the difference in emissions were much closer.