ESCRS Sustainability Commitment & Vision
ESCRS is taking a proactive role in advancing sustainability in our field. Improving the sustainability of the Winter Meeting is not only a moral duty, but also a strategic opportunity to enhance our performance, reputation, and innovation.
This year, we are reinforcing our commitment to sustainability by placing a strong emphasis on social responsibility and promoting inclusivity through various initiatives.
We are collaborating with our partners to work towards zero waste to landfill, zero net carbon emissions and becoming a role model for social responsibility. We are implementing measures to support the wellness of our attendees, contribute to local and global causes, restore ecosystems, and foster sustainability leadership in our industry.
Our vision for sustainability is ambitious, but achievable as we are not alone in this journey. We are collaborating with other organisations, institutions, and experts to learn from best practices and share our experiences. We are also engaging with our members, partners, and stakeholders to solicit their feedback and suggestions.
We invite you to join us in this journey. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can make ESCRS a more sustainable society.
Our Key Goals
Through collaboration with the GDS-Movement and the invaluable input of key stakeholders and partners, we have created a multi-year sustainability strategy.
Our proactive Mission Zero initiative includes four sustainability objectives that lead our planning, implementation, and evaluation efforts:
- Inspire Action
- Zero Waste
- Zero Emissions
- Social Responsibility
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Our following KPIs help us stay on track and guide our sustainability efforts:
Inspire Action
- Strengthen the promotions of the eyesustain.org initiative through partnerships with ASCRS and APACRS
- Recruit at least 2 new organisations into the Sustainability Partnership Programme
- Provide inclusive training opportunities for all members at the Winter Meeting
- Ensuring balanced representation of different continents in the overall programme
- Increase awareness of health inequity among underserved communities through targeted educational campaigns
Zero Waste
- Eliminate 90% of single use plastic, polystyrene and PVC
- Decrease waste sent to landfill to less than 10%
- Increase recycling to +60%
- +80% of all signage and branding to be made from more sustainable materials
Zero Emissions
- +20% of delegates to arrive by climate-friendly transport
- +50% of food served is vegetarian or vegan
- 70% of food locally sourced (less than 160km)
- 100% of unavoidable carbon emissions to be offset
Social Responsibility
- Increase balance of female speakers to 40%
- Integrate at least 1 community/charity partnerships
- Implement family-friendly provisions and activities for attendees with young children
Our Strategy
Our Principles
To achieve our goals, we have defined the following principles for sustainable organisation: