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The UIST team is committed to organizing a conference with an emphasis on sustainability and limiting our environmental impact where possible. We take a holistic view of sustainability, considering various opportunities to reduce emissions, reduce waste, and mitigate harms to the local community. Below, we have outlined the various initiatives the sustainability chairs and broader UIST2025 organizing team are implementing towards these sustainability goals.
Have feedback or other suggestions? You can reach out to the sustainability chairs directly about the topics discussed here, or any other topics, at sustainability@uist.org.
We are working with food vendors to minimize material waste associated with servingware (plates, utensils, etc.). Additionally, we will ensure vegetarian and vegan options for those with dietary restrictions. We will also highlight nearby restaurants that offer vegan/vegetarian options. Note that Korean cuisine often involves anchovy broth/flavoring and other base flavors that are not, in fact, vegan/vegetarian. More details about this will be updated here soon.
Badges and lanyards are a common source of waste at academic conferences. To reduce the waste associated discarding of conference badges and lanyards after the conference, we have implemented two measures: Using recycled paper for our badges Not using additional plastics for a badge holder (paper only) Lanyard collection after keynote sessions
There are several events in our program that historically use/generate a lot of material and waste - poster sessions, workshops, and demo sessions. To reduce the amount of waste for posters, we recommend printing locally and opting for posters without gloss (reducing the complexity for recycling streams). We will also collect poster boards and hanging material after the event to be reused. For workshops, sticky notes, poster paper, and writing utensils will be sourced from local institutions, and whatever is not used will be returned for continued use. Doing so, we can reduce the amount of purchasing new materials for a one-day event. For demos, we will encourage renting of materials from vendors (guide for local vendors) as opposed to buying and disposing of demo-related materials. We have also flagged donation centers where useful devices/screens/etc can be donated to after the conference concludes.
Korea has a strong system for separating different waste materials to ensure proper recycling. As UIST attendees, particularly if you are visiting Korea, please make sure to be a conscientious visitor and learn about how to responsibly dispose of any trash. Here is a brief recycling guide detailing how material is typically separated. We will also post a UIST25-specific one soon.
UIST has provided many suggestions for transportation options to and from the conference center for attendees. We highly recommend opting for public transportation routes when possible. You can read more about your options around transportation at this link (https://uist.acm.org/2025/attending/#transportation). In general, we note that after arriving in Korea, it is likely best (in every way, including from the point of view of sustainability) to travel via the excellent train network (https://www.korail.com/global/eng/main). It can get busy, particularly on weekends, so booking ahead is advisable.
As UIST is an in-person conference, air travel is necessary for all attendees who are traveling to the conference from other countries. Air travel is a significant contributor to carbon emissions, and we are aware of these environmental impacts associated with hosting an international conference. To offset some of these impacts, UIST is introducing several carbon offsetting measures.
Flat rate carbon offsetting fee (currently estimated to be $10) included in each conference registration - This is a new UIST initiative where we will set aside a portion of the UIST2025 budget towards offsetting the emissions generated by travel to and from the conference. As contributing carbon offsetting donations are often difficult for the vast majority of conference attendees (more details on this in the FAQ), carbon offsetting contributions have historically been low. This initiative ensures that addressing emissions from hosting an in-person international conference is baked into the conference budget. Post-conference, we will write up how our carbon offsetting initiative compares to an “ideal” offsetting of conference attendee travel (based on their home country listed).
Optional donation - As we expect the flat rate baked into the conference registration will be less than the appropriate offsetting amount for air travel (for instance, a round trip between the US and Korea would be ~$80), we have continued the option to allow attendees to include an additional optional donation during registration.
Carbon offsetting is just one measure of many to address the emissions involved in hosting an international, in-person conference. As such, we are approaching sustainability from a variety of efforts and not just using carbon offsetting to meet our sustainability goals. Because carbon offsetting might be a less familiar practice, we have compiled a short FAQ on these carbon offsetting measures below.
Q: What is carbon offsetting?
A: Carbon offsetting is a practice of calculating the “costs” associated with certain emissions (e.g., air travel) and making a donation of equivalent value to an organization that is invested in promoting sustainable practices & infrastructure. Carbon offsetting emerged as a practice to allow large organizations to seek out methods of “reinvesting” funds towards reducing carbon emissions when generating emissions (i.e., via air travel) is necessary. There has been significant discussion on how effective carbon offsetting is in practice, but it remains a great starting point for organizations to “invest” in creating a more sustainable society.
Q: Who is Cool Effect? Why is this the carbon offsetting vendor of choice?
A: Cool Effect is a carbon-offsetting organization that facilitates the funding of projects that aim to reduce carbon emissions. Cool Effect has a vetting process to ensure that the projects it funds are scientifically, financially, and ethically sound. Additionally, 90% of donations to Cool Effect are donated to such projects. Furthermore, currently it’s the only ACM-approved vendor for carbon-offsetting and has been used across carbon offsetting initiatives across the years (e.g., CHI).
Q: Why is carbon offsetting part of registration?
A: Historically, optional carbon offsetting donations during registration have been low. In UIST2019, 25 participants contributed a total of $240. This is due to a variety of reasons, including the fact that donations during conference registration are not usually considered reimbursable by academic/industry institutions. Instead, we hope to expand our carbon offsetting capacity by integrating it into registration costs. This is a new initiative we are trying, and we plan to report on the results of this approach post-conference, which will hopefully help inform future conference organizing committees in their planning.
