goals |
transport and accommodation
Sustainability Goals
UIST is committed to making the conference as environmentally sustainable as possible. Climate change and ecological degradation due to human emissions of greenhouse gasses and other environmental pressures is an urgent threat, one which requires massive efforts at every level of society. Following the work from previous sustainability committees, this year we aim to champion environmental sustainability, specifically by:
- Informing and helping develop policy to promote more sustainable procurement, reduce travel, reduce waste, lower the environmental impacts of food choices, and lower direct and embodied energy demands.
- Implement a carbon offsetting policy to cover all conference attendees.
- Advise venues on decisions conducive to sustainable/ethical catering options, proper indoor climate control as well as refuse and recycle strategies.
- Collecting data to track the environmental impact of the conference and enable annual comparison of conference choices.
- Supporting the general chairs in embedding sustainable decision making into the conference and its organization.
Align with these efforts, we are planning a variety of sustainable initiatives that will help the conference moving forward:
- Carbon offsetting. With the conference having an in-person option, we worked on offering a carbon offsetting option for this year. Based on ACM's guidance and previous chairs' work, the conference will offer approximately $15 per person contribution towards a carbon offsetting programme. This is based on a budget commitment of $7,500 total over a projected attendance of 500.
- Data Collection. As part of a longer-term plan to understand the conference’s environmental impact, we will collect data on energy usage and waste, which will enable us to make informed decisions for future conferences
- Continuing UIST Beyond 2022. In previous years, members of UIST Sustainability Committees worked to advance a variety of actions to push our community forward and move us in a direction that allows us to take on the grand challenge that is climate change. In recognizing these efforts, we take their efforts as our baseline by:
- Continue to integrate sustainable policies and procedures moving forward
- Continue to advocate for opportunities to enable a virtual, hybrid or adapted approach to UIST conferences
- Community Engagement. We cannot do this alone; we need to engage with the community and facilitate a discussion on UIST’s role in the climate crisis. We want to uncover how we can tackle issues of social and environmental sustainability as a collective, both through the conference itself and the way in which we conduct our research. This will involve gathering community feedback on the benefits and drawbacks of virtual/hybrid conferences.
This year’s committee builds on the great work done by previous committees. We encourage you to learn what our previous colleagues have set out to do in past years. This is the foundation this committee departs from:
Sustainable Transport and Accommodation to UIST
Thanks to previous committees’ work and a commitment to sustainability from this years’ leadership, UIST 2022 will be offering carbon offsetting contributions by default at a ~$15 per participant rate. However, as you choose your flights and accommodation to Bend, you can continue to make sustainable decisions.
Flights
When booking your flight you can choose routes that reduce your carbon footprint. You can do this using services such as Google Flights or Kayak. If you do not want to use these services for booking, you can use their data to inform your booking decisions. To minimize emissions, FlyGreen suggests taking the most direct flight and choosing an economy seat where possible.
Another alternative is to calculate the emissions for your air route using an online calculator and then contribute to an offsetting program of your choice. There are multiple options for where to contribute to offsetting, a good place to start is Gold Standard.
Hotel
This year’s in-person portion of the conference will take place in Bend, Oregon at the Riverhouse on the Deschutes hotel. You can find more information about the venue on the attending page. Generally speaking, we recommend you secure accommodation close to the venue. This will allow you to avoid transportation to/from the venue of the conference. If not possible, we recommend you rely on Bend’s public transportation or their bike sharing system in partnership with Bird.
Sustainability Chairs
Questions? Contact: sustainability2022@uist.org
