Sustainability at ESPGHAN 2023
Embracing Sustainability
ESPGHAN is committed to integrating sustainable meeting practices and initiatives that go beyond slogans and result in useful achievements.
We firmly believe that we all have a part to play in preserving our future for generations to come, both locally and across the globe.
Therefore, we are organizing our 2023 Annual Meeting with sustainability in mind – for our planet and environment, as well as for everyone involved with the event: from the organising team and committees, through our partner chain, all the way to the delegates we welcome.
The 2023 Meeting destination city and congress centre are also aligned with our vision of improving our environment and society’s impact. Click here or scroll to the bottom of the page to learn more about how Vienna and ACV engage with sustainability.
ESPGHAN and the City of Vienna Transport
The city of Vienna has a comprehensive and very convenient city transport system. Every attendee of the congress can purchase a City Transportation Card for the duration of the event for a special reduced price of 10 EUR. It can be purchased as an additional function during the registration process. It can be purchased separately at the event also. The Card needs to be redeemed physically from the Registration desk at the Meeting.
ESPGHAN and the Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, also known as the Global Goals) are 17 goals with 169 targets that all UN Member States have agreed to work towards achieving by the year 2030. They set out a vision for a world free from poverty, hunger and disease.
We at ESPGHAN want to do our part to promote the achievement of these goals in our own value chain. The SDGs that we support and work towards are:
How You Can Contribute as an ESPGHAN Participant
As individuals, as well as a community, each of us can and should contribute towards maintaining the natural ecological balance in the environment and preserving the planet and its natural systems and resources. Here is what we invite you to do as part of the ESPGHAN 2023 Meeting:
- Use the mobile app and the virtual platform (instead of printing) to inquire about the programme details
- Use more sustainable ways of traveling to and around Vienna (take the train instead of a flight; ride a bike or walk instead of taxi) or even better – preorder the discounted city card provided by ESPGHAN.
- Reduce the waste you generate and separate disposal
- Opt for reusable mugs and bottles
- Download and fill in the waste reduction and prevention form
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Supporting accessible high-quality education for our community is our top priority. Throughout the organization of ESPGHAN, we strive to constantly improve the scientific programme, introduce more accessible Meeting alternatives and support onsite attendance, eliminate gender disparities in education, and ensure long-term education for our attendees.
Our 2023 Initiatives:
- High-Quality Scientific Programme– Carefully crafted by an international team of Immunodeficiency experts. We aim to constantly improve the session formats, introduce new relevant topics and invite the best international experts
- Sessions On Demand– The recorded ESPGHAN sessions will be available to all participants for 6 months after the Meeting dates, allowing attendees to catch up on any learnings they missed during the Meeting, or re-watch important presentations and discussions.
- Virtual Conference Alternative– Everyone can be part of the conference and watch the lectures on-demand, even if they are not able to travel to Vienna in May.
- Free Registration for the Virtual Platform from Ukraine – we support the Ukrainian specialists that are unable to travel and join us on the congress, so we are giving them full access to the recorded program of the event on the Platform.
- Promoting Sustainable Development– We enquire and opt for more sustainable options from our vendors, openly communicate our efforts to do better, and encourage our partners and participants to reduce their footprint too.
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable
Our 2023 Initiatives:
- Together with the Meeting venue, we are striving to make ESPGHAN more and more accessible – both to those not being able to attend the Meeting in person, but also paying attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations like persons with disabilities or elderly people. – All of the exhibition halls, meeting rooms and restaurants in the venue meet the essential standards for accessibility. Guide dogs are permitted on the premises.
- By choosing Vienna as the Annual Meeting destination, we are working towards sustainability – the city and the venue are very sustainable in a lot of ways.
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
We realise the impact large-scale events like the ESPGHAN Meeting could have on the environment, therefore sustainable production and consumption is one of our main priorities in the organisation of the 2023 Meeting. We have been working with our suppliers and the venue to ensure maximum positive change.
Our 2023 Initiatives:
Reduced printing:
- The usual 200-page Programme book and the 50-page Mini Programme will be replaced with one book with less than 100 pages that will cover the most important points of the Annual meeting. We will also have even better content on the Congress Mobile App and Online Platform for the attendees to read.
- All printed materials will be produced from recycled materials – textile, paper etc. with the appropriate certification.
- Limiting printed promotional materials for ESPGHAN at other events and those of other events at ESPGHAN. We encourage digital alternatives instead.
- We encourage all our exhibitors to join us in this initiative and reduce single-use giveaways at their stands.
- All course materials will be available in digital format. Course attendance certificates will be sent electronically.
Optimizing Energy & Water Consumption:
- The Austria Center Vienna was built in 1987. And thanks to extensive modernisation programmes, the venue is ideally placed to meet future environmental standards. The high-efficiency heat recovery technology in the ventilation system has cut energy use by 90%, while unused waste heat from the air conditioning units is injected into Vienna’s district heating network.
- We are using a policy for optimised logistics with a shared warehouse with our partner Merkur for all the shipments of materials, with the aim of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and traffic congestion.
More sustainable catering:
- Certified according to the ecolabel for Event Catering, our exclusive catering partner MOTTO Catering offers bespoke culinary concepts designed to satisfy every taste. Regional and seasonal dishes, including vegetarian and vegan options.
- The food items offered to our participants will be seasonal, organic and prepared from local and regional products
- All food & beverage utensils will be reusable or compostable
- The cleaning products used in the kitchen and food preparation facilities are eco-friendly
Conscious Garbage Disposal & Waste Treatment
- Selective waste collection throughout the building (paper, combustible waste, glass and tins)
- Containers for the specific types of exhibition-related waste in order to maximise recycling
- Delegate badge collection at the end of the event
- Hand towels & toilette paper are made of recycled paper (EU Ecolabel)
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
ESPGHAN is proud to join the IAPCO Plastics Pledge to rid the meetings industry of single-use plastic. We are conscious of the potential of single-use plastics being used at events and then discarded to enter into the oceans and onto beaches, and the negative impact this would have on our environment.
Our 2023 Initiatives:
- Limit to a minimum the use of non-recyclable plastic from the entire Conference
- Replace them with biodegradable or recyclable options in food & beverage functions
- End the use of single-use plastic water bottles by offering special multiple-use bottles and water fountains all around the venue
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Our 2023 Initiatives:
Run with the Council
ESPGHAN is proud to organize for the first time the event “Run with the Council” that will raise funds for the “Trees for All” initiative and help plant more trees in the world!
The run will take place during the ESPGHAN 2023 Annual Meeting in Vienna. To see how to register and take part, please click on the button below.
Offsetting your CO2 emissions
As a participant caring for sustainability and climate change, we are offering you the option to offset your air travel carbon emissions by calculating them and donating the compensation sum.
Learn more via: treesforall.nl/en/forms/offset-your-air-travel-business/
Learn More About Sustainability in Vienna:
www.vienna.convention.at/de/nachhaltigkeit/gruene-stadt/nachhaltige-meeting-destination-wien-437114