"Silver" and "Gold" for sustainable and inclusive events at ETH
Anyone organizing a more sustainable event at ETH will now be rewarded. From today on, internal silver and gold labels will be awarded to qualifying events. New guidelines offer clear direction for event planning and set a higher standard of sustainability for all ETH events.
Events are an integral part of daily life at ETH, with over 2500 taking place each year. Through mindful planning, visible improvements in resource consumption can be achieved at all events, while also addressing the social aspects of sustainable and inclusive event design. This includes considerations such as gender balance among keynote speakers and ensuring barrier-free access to venues and program content.
Growing interest in sustainable events
Interest in sustainable and inclusive events has significantly increased since the COVID pandemic. In response, ETH Sustainability, ETH Event Management, and ETH Diversity have collaborated to develop a comprehensive overview of measures aimed at making events at ETH more sustainable and inclusive. This collaboration has resulted in the creation of three guides for different event categories. These guides fill an information gap and offer practical, actionable recommendations.
These three guides form the core of the new ETH standard for sustainable and inclusive events. In addition to "good practice measures," they also include measures labeled as "excellent." These measures go beyond "good practice measures" in terms of their impact and, in some cases, also in terms of the effort required to receive them. Additionally, there are guidelines for implementation.
“We at the ETH+ initiative RobotX implemented the measures according to Guide #2 for the RobotX Innovation Day 2024 and communicated them to all guests and participants via our website.”Maria Trodella, staff member at the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems (IRIS)
"Silver" and "Gold" labels: leading by example
To give visibility to the efforts of event organizers in creating sustainable and inclusive events, ETH will now award internal events with a Silver or Gold label: "Sustainable Event SILVER" and "Sustainable Event GOLD." These labels are currently awarded exclusively to ETH internal events (Guides #1 and #2). For external events (Guide #3), the process for label certification still requires further clarification.
ETH Sustainability or ETH Event Management will grant the labels after reviewing the completed guides as part of a pilot program, which will run at least until the end of 2024. During this period, the pilot will assess whether the guides are applicable to the wide variety of events at ETH, whether certain measures need to be added or adjusted, and whether the incentive of earning a label proves effective.
“We already implemented last year's VPPL annual event as sustainably as possible and will keep this in mind for this year as well – we might even aim for a label.”Michaela Seikel, staff member at the Vice-Presidency for Personnel Development and Leadership (VPPL)
How does the label awarding process work?
- If you are organizing an event at ETH, fill out either Guide #1 or Guide #2, depending on the type of event, and plan your event accordingly. Properly completing the guide is primarily based on self-responsibility. No audits will be conducted.
- 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.
- To receive the "Sustainable Event SILVER" label, 70 percent of the measures in the relevant guide must be implemented. For the "Sustainable Event GOLD" label, 85 percent of the measures should be implemented.
- ETH Sustainability and ETH Event Management () are available for free consultation to help oversee the label awarding process.
- Once all questions have been mutually clarified and you have received the "green light," you will be awarded the label for communication purposes. Additionally, you will receive a label poster, which can be printed and displayed at the event. Your event will also be listed under "label events" on the Sustainable and Inclusive Events website.
“With a label, anyone can lead by example! It’s visible and encourages others to follow.”Isabelle Castagna, Sustainability manager at ETH Sustainability
Towards greater sustainability in our event planning
In its pursuit of excellence, ETH aims to deliver events of the highest quality. The release of the three guides for sustainable and inclusive events, along with the launch of the "Silver" and "Gold" labels, adds consistency and visibility to this high standard.
Organizers of both small and large events at ETH can contribute to further establishing this standard, thereby advancing sustainability and inclusion at ETH.
Further information
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