12.3.20 Greening the European Public Health (EPH) conferences. Report for the European Public Health Association (EUPHA)’s Green Club
This report (dated 24 Jan 2020) documents recent developments and summarizes current discussions: Greening EPH confs report 2020_01_24.
2020_01_24 Greening report ToC 19_21
2016_11_10-12 EPH conf Wien 16_05 slide01
2019_11_22 EPH conf Marseille 19_09e slide01
2016_11_10 Wien (A), Kein Plan(et) B
From the content:
- The impacts on health and environment which emerge from scientific conferences receive increasing attention … For EUPHA, such conferences are an essential element for pursuing its goals, providing crucial opportunities for scientific exchange and debate. During the last few years, EUPHA has strived to “green” the European Public Health conferences, especially to minimize negative impacts. This paper aims to document main lines of activities since 2016, identify current challenges, and sketch potential solutions (p. 2).
- What measures are apt for EUPHA to undertake? Certainly, the extraordinary scale of the problem needs to be acknowledged … Minimizing the footprint from conferences (and other activities) should be include into a new EUPHA strategy and workplan. EUPHAnxt, EUPHAS “next generation network”, should obviously be a protagonist. It is reasonable to continue monitoring conference practices, exchanging experiences and learning from each other … Climate compensation should be integrated into the conference registration process. However, upscaling and involving EUPHA executive bodies will be needed. A decision on when and where exploring simultaneous multicentric hybrid conferencing will have to be made; … regional hubs could be located all over Europe, based on 1-day train ride distances. A better European train system can become an issue for Public Health advocacy … Beyond the conferences, we need to bring Public Health and sustainability issues more closely together, in both theory and practice, and start working on personal CO2 budgets … This is unfinished business, bound to require attention and energy also from Public Health professionals for years to come (pp. 11-12).
Concerning this report, the comprehensive cooperation with the EUPHA executive director, the EUPHA Green Club president and the HIA Section president is gratefully acknowledged. The responsibility, however, for opinions expressed, errors and omissions lies with RF.
Cf.:
Human ecology and health 