Reducing the Environmental Impact of Health Care Conferences: A Study of Emissions and Practical Solutions

Abstract

PURPOSE We aimed to examine the impact of different conference formats (in-person, virtual, and hybrid) of the ASCO conference on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to recommend sustainable options for future conferences. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study used data on the number of attendees, their departure locations, and the type of attendance (in-person v virtual) provided by ASCO between 2019 and 2022. The GHG emissions resulting from air and ground travel, remote connectivity, conference space utilization, hotel stays, distributed conference materials, and electricity use were estimated for each year. Emissions were stratified by attendee country of origin, type of attendance, and year. Simulations were conducted to evaluate how changes in conference size, location, and format impact emissions, as well as estimate the resulting mitigations from adopting the proposed changes. RESULTS The highest estimated GHG emissions, calculated in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e), were associated with the 2019 in-person conference (37,251 metric tons of CO2e). Although international attendees had the largest contribution to emissions in all years (>50%), location optimization models, which selected conference locations that most minimized GHG emissions, yielded only minimal reductions (approximately 3%). Simulations examining changes to the conference format, location, and attendance percentage suggested that hub-and-spoke, where multiple conference locations are selected by global region, or hybrid models, with both in-person and virtual components, are likely to cause the largest drops in emissions (up to 86%). CONCLUSION Using historical conference data, this study identifies key aspects that can be modified to reduce emissions and consequently promote more sustainable and equitable conference attendance. Hybrid conferences may be the best solution to maintain the networking opportunities provided by conferences while balancing out their environmental footprint.