Seven steps to make trips to more sustainable scientific conferences

But the benefits must be weighed against the environmental costs of attending conferences and meetings.¹. A return flight from London to New York (11,000 kilometers), for example, releases about 2 tons of carbon dioxide, which is about the amount produced on average by the annual use of the car in the city. 'European Union. Attending a conference generates approximately 800 kilograms of CO₂ emissions per participant.

From our experiences as junior and experienced teachers in the biological and physical sciences, the number of lectures seems to be increasing. This year, for example, Gordon Research Conferences – one of the largest conference organizers in the field of life sciences – holds more than 300 meetings, up from around 155 in 2000.

Here are seven concrete proposals to reduce the number of trips to universities, based on our own experience in conference attendance and discussions with colleagues:

Reduce meetings

Organize fewer conferences and make them more useful. The main organizers must justify the meetings they organize. One consequence of the decrease in the number of meetings may be that the lists of speakers are more numerous in the remaining conferences. This would allow early career researchers to meet more personalities in their field and develop their academic networks, while attending fewer meetings.

Swimming pool conferences

Meeting organizers must establish agreed windows for particular fields each year. For example, a series of lectures on different aspects of developmental biology could be organized consecutively in Heidelberg (Germany), then in Wageningen (the Netherlands), then in Prague (or even in the same city). Speakers traveling long distances can cover multiple meetings in one trip. Intercontinental travel to give a presentation would become the exception, not the norm. Alternatively, the lectures could be longer and more in-depth, such as extended programs and conferences lasting from three weeks to a few months organized by the Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, California. Scientists would travel less often, but longer. This is problematic, especially for families of young families, but we think that, combined with our first point, it would significantly reduce the total travel time each year without affecting career development.

Lead by example

Top-level academics could attend fewer conferences and encourage junior laboratory members to take their place. To encourage this, hiring and funding agencies could value conference invitations transferred or denied in relation to the total number of invitations. Scientists who limit travel should be more attractive to a potential employer. This proposal does not necessarily reduce the total number of trips, but it promotes frugality and gives early career researchers the opportunity to build their career. By becoming champions of sustainability, mid-career or mid-career researchers could generate awareness and bring about a systemic change in scientific culture. We believe that this would encourage early career researchers to reduce their own travel without affecting career prospects.

Use technology

Although videoconferencing is not as effective as face-to-face meetings, it improves and is time and money-efficient for both the audience and the speaker. Institutions and scientists should encourage young researchers to present their work remotely.

Considering greener alternatives

Trains, for example, are much more environmentally friendly than flights and should be the main means of transport in Europe. Yes, train travel takes longer and can be more expensive, but it is often easier to work on trains than on airplanes, and if there are fewer conferences, less time is spent traveling.

To show creativity

It's not just a question of travel. Sustainability should be at the center of conferences. Organizers or participants could serve or request low-impact vegetarian or locally sourced foods. Some conferences have already banned single-use plastics; the others should follow their example. The use of buses and other means of transportation should be kept to a minimum (except for accessibility reasons), and walking encouraged if the event is spread over several sites. It's a great way to build relationships and promote well-being.².

Self-regulate

Finally, everyone should evaluate if their trip is justified³. Each scientist could adopt an annual "air mile" quota. Some scientists have even decided to completely abandon air travel. A quota might encourage us to be more selective about the meetings we attend – do the career benefits outweigh the environmental costs? Researchers can also consciously support conferences and meetings with specific policies to mitigate their environmental impact. Carbon compensation is the simplest option available, and more organizers should do it. But it is only a palliative and unsustainable long-term measure: scientists must reduce their carbon footprint and not appease their guilt.

We do not have clean hands, but we suggest these measures because people urgently need to reduce their consumption.^4,5. Scientists are under great pressure to travel – a change of culture is needed. Individuals can ask the conference organizers, administrators and other members of the community for an environmentally sound science culture. Conferences are often organized and are always followed by researchers. So we have the power to lobby and change organizations. Travel should not be an essential element of academic success; on the contrary, evidence of sustainable travel should be valued in the researcher's career.