Sustainable and Inclusive Events

More than 2500 events are organised at ETH every year. The guides for Sustainable and Inclusive Events support the organisers of ETH events in contributing to the ETH Zurich climate goals and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Guides for "Sustainable and Inclusive Events"

Cover picture of the guide for sustainable events with a picture of an apéro at ETH

The following guides are available for download in an accessible version:

Download Guide #1 (PDF, 930 KB) for Bachelor's/Master's celebrations and networking events with aperitifs at ETH locations.

Download Guide #2 (PDF, 1 MB) for conferences, congresses, trade fairs and exhibitions at ETH locations with external attendees.

Download Guide #3 (PDF, 1.1 MB) for conferences, congresses, trade fairs and exhibitions outside ETH.

2024: Awarded events with the ‘Sustainable Event GOLD’ or the ‘Sustainable Event SILVER’ label

Portrait Maria Trodella, Center for Robotics

“We, the ETH+ RobotX Initiative, have implemented the measures according to Guide #2 for the RobotX Innovation Day 2024 and communicated them to all guests and participants.”

Maria Trodella, staff member of the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems (IRIS)

A common ETH standard for sustainable and inclusive events

In the interest of excellence, ETH Zurich aims to offer events of the highest quality while being as sustainable and inclusive as possible. With the publication of the three guides and the introduction of the silver and gold labels, new guidelines have been created. The task now is to integrate and embed these standards in ETH's event planning processes. By implementing the measures for greater sustainability in the events sector, every event at ETH, large or small, can contribute to this.

ETH Zurich pursues sustainability in its strategic guidelines. The 2030 Agenda and 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals specify environmental, social and economic sustainability.

More than 2500 events take place at ETH Zurich every year, which have a significant impact on the university's carbon footprint. In particular, events with international participants have a high resource consumption due to travel and accommodation, which could be reduced by using hybrid forms, for example. For all events, careful planning can lead to significant savings, especially in catering, which is particularly important for smaller events.

Social issues such as diversity and inclusion are also key to the sustainability of an event. This includes issues such as the gender balance of keynote speakers, the compatibility of events with family life, and the accessibility of venues and programme content.

Icons of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals — The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted by all UN member states in 2015. Almost all SDGs are affected at events.

More and more people at ETH want to organise their events in a sustainable way. As existing guidelines do not provide concrete "good practice" measures, specific measures have been developed with the involvement of various ETH units (ETH Sustainability, ETH Event Management/Campus Services, ETH Diversity, SGU, Community & Outreach and the Student Sustainability Committee). These measures are intended to support event organisers in planning and implementing sustainable and inclusive events in line with the 2030 Agenda. A sustainable and inclusive event is one that is organised in an environmentally and socially responsible way, while remaining economically viable.

“We have already made last year's VPPL annual event as sustainable as possible, and will continue to do so this year - perhaps even aiming for a label.”

Michaela Seikel, staff member of the Office of the Vice President for People Development and Leadership (VPPL)

Be awarded with the "Sustainable Event GOLD" and "Sustainable Event SILVER" labels

Anyone who consciously organises their event in a sustainable and inclusive way can now be awarded a label: 'Sustainable Event SILVER' and 'Sustainable Event GOLD'.

These labels are currently only awarded for internal ETH events (Guides #1 and #2) and are currently not available for external events (Guide #3).

The labels will be awarded as part of a pilot project that will run until at least the end of 2024.

Minimum requirements for a label application:

To be eligible for a label, an event must have a certain complexity and fulfil at least two of the following criteria:

There is a substantial aperitif with drinks and a variety of food products
Several people external to ETH attend the event
There are various materials that can be reduced, designed sustainably or avoided (merchandise, gifts, giveaways or decoration).

If you have any questions, please contact .

New: silver and gold labels for sustainable and inclusive events at ETH

How does the labelling process work?

If you are organising an event at ETH, you fill in either Guide #1 or Guide #2, depending on the type of event, and plan your event accordingly. The correct completion of the guide is mainly based on personal responsibility and no audits are carried out.
ETH Sustainability and ETH Eventmanagement are available free of charge for advice and labelling.
The completed guide must be sent to no later than three weeks before the event. ETH Sustainability or ETH Event Management will then get back to you.
In order to receive the "Sustainable Event SILVER" label, 70% of the measures in the corresponding guide must be implemented. For a 'Sustainable Event GOLD' label, 85% of the measures must be implemented.
Once all outstanding issues have been resolved and the 'green light' has been given, the organiser receives the label for communication purposes. There is also a label poster that can be printed and displayed at the event. The event will be listed under 'Label events' on the Sustainable and Inclusive Events website.

What are the benefits of the label

By implementing the measures, any event, large or small, can contribute to a sustainable and inclusive ETH. A label gives your event visibility and you can lead by example!

Frequently asked questions

Further information is available in the Download FAQ (PDF, 338 KB).

Help us improve the guides and labels!

We look forward to receiving your feedback via the .

Thank you very much for your help!

Further information

Contact