CILIPS22 x CILIPSGoGreen

We know that Scotland’s library and information professionals care deeply about sustainability, as evidenced by the success of our COP26-inspired campaign and resource collection #CILIPSGoGreen. Here are some of the steps we took to lessen the environmental impact of our 2022 Annual Conference and how our delegates helped:

• We used two carbon calculators – one for individuals from the World Wildlife Fund and one for GLAM sector organisations from the Gallery Climate Coalition – to evaluate the likely carbon impact of various conference components. For example…
• If 150 conference delegates all attend by car, the carbon impact will be at least 13.5tCO2e. If those 150 delegates purchase a train ticket instead, the impact equates to 0.26 tCO2e, just 2% of the car travel carbon cost. If their circumstances and access requirements allowed, we encouraged delegates to travel sustainably to and from #CILIPS22, helping us to lessen its collective environmental impact.
• Printing a low-weight paper item like our conference programme 200 times results in 0.02 tCO2e. A small number, certainly, but every sustainable step helps! A ‘digital first’ strategy ensured there were still paper programme copies for everyone who wanted or needed one, while delegates who preferred to keep things digital received an emailed PDF version in advance (a QR code at the welcome desk also let them download it on the day).
• Whether at work or at home, carbon footprints are reduced by vegan/vegetarian locally produced food and increased by takeaways, imported items and high levels of food waste. While we didn’t yet feature a fully carbon neutral menu, we liaised with the Dundee Apex Hotel to ensure that a reduced food waste strategy was in place for the conference.

For more on our environmental goals, please see the CILIP Scotland Carbon Neutrality Plan 2022 or download our template version to customize with actions that are specific to your own library or organisation.