Going Green Event

EERA and the Local Organisers of ECER aim to lower the environmental impact of the annual conferences by looking at all aspects of the conference organisation, such as registration, communication, travel, catering, waste disposal etc and finding the most sustainable solution.

We are proud to announce that for the first time ECER has been awarded a Going Green Certificate, the “going Green Event” certificate of the Agenzia provinciale per l'ambiente of South Tyrol. Green events are planned, organized and realised according to criteria of sustainability.

The 5 most important reasons ECER 2018 received the certificate:

• Powered by renewable energy only
• No plastic bottles, no plastic cups
• Re-usable bamboo conference mug
• Local products used in all caterings
• Ecologic conference bag (bio-organic cotton)

Please support us in making this event as eco-friendly as possible by bringing your own refillable water bottle and using the “ECER 2018 bamboo conference mug” you will receive with your conference bag for the coffee you get in the breaks etc.

Below you will also find an overview of what else you can do, and what else we do.

Print as Little as Possible

• Use the conference app and online programme. Save paper and energy by opting out of receiving the printed conference programme when you register for the conference.
• Please carefully consider whether printed handouts are necessary. If they are, use as little paper as possible by printing on both sides.
• Please only print a paper copy of your certificate of participation if you require a stamp and signature. You can download the digital pdf version from your user account.

Compensate for your CO² Footprint

• For those travelling by aircraft, we recommend you compensate your CO² footprint.
• EERA cooperates with “myclimate”, a Swiss non-profit organisation engaged internationally in climate education and awareness to support climate protection projects.
• Learn more about <link>myclimate and how to compensate CO2 emissions.

Use Public Transportation
(or Rent a Bike!)

• Bolzano is a small city and the Campus is an 8 minutes’ walk from the main train station. If your accommodation is located outside of Bolzano, please use public transport for coming to town, because parking is expensive and the biggest part of the city centre is open to public transport only. Depending on the airport you arrive at, there are excellent connections by train or express bus to Bolzano.
• Bolzano has over 48 km of bike lanes and you can rent a bicycle in Via della Stazione, close to the central train station (cost: 5 € a day). Bring a valid ID and 10 € as deposit fee. 
• We have put together information on busses, bikes and the airport trains. <link _blank>More Information.

Minimise Packaging Waste when Choosing Food and Drink

• Tap water is potable in South Tyrol. Bring your own re-usable water bottle and you will have a healthy, cheap and eco-friendly drink with you at all times.
• For lunch, instead of getting something to take away which produces packaging waste, go to the cafeteria, it offers a wonderful salad bar and several warm dishes.
• In the Venue Booklet you can find information on vegetarian and vegan restaurants.

Recycle

• On site, as well as all around Bolzano, a recycling and composting system is in place. Please make sure to use the appropriate bins.

Printing and Other Materials for the Conference

• Since 2008 EERA has had a paper-free conference management system for participant registration and payment.
• All conference information (flyer, venue booklet, printed programme etc) is printed on recycled, FSC free paper.
• The conference bag is re-usable.
• We have reduced the number of printed programmes by offering delegates the possibility to opt out of receiving one. At ECER 2017 more than 50 % of the participants took advantage of this resource-saving option.

Food and Drinks at the Conference

• Vegetarian and vegan options are available at all catering spots.
• Only local/regional products as well as seasonal products are used in catering.
• There won’t be any plastic cups at ECER 2018! When registering at the check-in desk you will receive a ceramic cup, which you will use during the whole conference for all your drinking needs. There won’t be any (plastic) bottled water either. Bolzano is famous for its pristine tab water, which will be provided in big dispensers at the coffee stations. Or feel free to bring your own bottle to refill.

EERA Office

• The EERA Office prints as little as possible and uses recycled paper and we are ardent (re-)users of scrap paper.
• We only use eco-friendly cleaning products.
• Whenever possible, we upgrade the hardware of our PCs instead of purchasing new ones. If an additional PC is necessary, we buy it refurbished via the German partners of TechSoup, a non-profit organisation designed for making soft- and hardware affordable for the non profit sector.

We thank our sponsors who enabled us to offer the bamboo conference mugs. You can meet them at the exhibition.