Sustainability and conferences
Recent years have seen a growing focus on sustainability, recycling and ecology. At Aarhus University, we are committed to planning and holding our conferences in a sustainable way – both out of a sense of social responsibility, but also because we can save money and resources by rethinking the way we usually do things. By making a few small adjustments and putting a little effort in planning and holding your conference, you can make a big (sustainable) difference – while also sending an important signal about AU’s priorities and values.
Below are some tips for making your conference or event more sustainable. Click on the links to find out more!
Before and during your conference
Catering
Tips to make your catering more sustainable
Rethink the buffet: Buffets often involve a lot of food waste, so consider alternatives. If a buffet is the best option for your event, talk to your canteen about doing a buffet of small plates/courses and food that can be put out as required.
Use packed lunch bags: Even if you’ve served buffet-style meals during the conference, consider using individual packed lunch bags on the final day to avoid food waste.
Consider your tableware options: Talk to the canteen about what type of tableware to use. Glass and crockery aren’t always the best options, because washing up is energy-intensive. Ask them!
Use sustainable water bottles: Replace regular plastic bottles with our sustainable water bottles that can be refilled and reused many times (you can put name labels on them that can be taken off after the conference). Make sure there is a drinking water tap or fountain nearby for people to refill their water bottles. You cannot ask conference guests to use the taps in the restrooms.
Provide jugs of tap water: Put jugs of tap water on the tables during meals. You can reassure your guests that Danish tap water is safe to drink and actually tastes good too.
Talk to the canteen: Discuss organic food, vegetarian options, and sustainability with your canteen or the catering service at your venue. You can consider asking them to prepare meals based on the new dietary pyramid and to incorporate protein in the form of legumes (read more about the dietary pyramid and the official Danish dietary recommendations below). You can also suggest ways to cut down on food waste, such as refilling instead of completely replacing the fruit tray from day to day. If you choose to use AU’s reusable water bottles, ask your canteen about options for refilling them (at the moment, water fountains are only available at some AU locations, such as the Lakeside Lecture Theatres, by the Main Hall on Ringgaden, and in the S building on Fuglesangs Allé).
Recommend sustainable and organic restaurants in Aarhus: If your guests are organising their own meals, recommend the sustainable and organic restaurants in Aarhus (find the link below).
Set sustainability demands: When you book your conference dinner or other meals, request more sustainable options from the restaurant – discuss organic products and vegetarian options with them, ask about their policies on food waste and suggest that they provide lunch bags if that makes sense for your event.
Think about food waste: Consider ways to minimise food waste. You could, for example, invite conference helpers or students to take the leftover food home with them. But remember to check with the canteen first. Any agreement on giving food to a third party must be approved by the canteen in question out of regard for hygiene rules.
Don’t make meat the default: Make the vegetarian menu the default menu for your conference, and ask people to actively indicate if they’d prefer the meat option when they sign up. You can also choose to only offer a vegetarian menu, which is now the default menu at meetings and events at AU.
Plan for no-shows: Be careful when estimating the number of participants so that you avoid as much food waste as possible. Consider whether there might be any no-shows – and talk to the canteen about how to avoid food waste in the best way possible.
Legumes on the menu
One of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration’s seven new dietary recommendations is that we should all eat less meat and more legumes – ideally 100 grams a day (cooked weight). Beans, lentils and peas are all legumes; there are many varieties, but all of them are among the healthiest plant-based sources of protein available. They are not only filling and a good source of dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals – they are also a cheaper, more climate-friendly alternative to meat. So keep legumes in mind when you’re planning catering for your next conference or event. Talk to AU’s canteen personnel about it – they’re very knowledgeable!
Learn more about legumes below:
Økologiske grønne proteiner – skønne opskrifter med bælgfrugter fra Økologisk Landsforening
Slip bælgfrugterne løs – viden om bælgfrugter fra Landbrug og Fødevarer
Inspiration til brug af bælgfrugter fra Økologisk Landsforening
Organic restaurants in and around Aarhus
Here’s a list of certified organic restaurants in and around Aarhus. Organic products are good for your health, for biodiversity and for the environment. Remember that you can always work with conference venues and restaurants to provide more sustainable meals, for example an entirely vegetarian dinner for your conference guests.
The seven new dietary recommendations
You might also want to consult the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration’s latest dietary recommendations from 2021 when deciding on the menu for your next event. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration’s dietary recommendations can help you ensure a healthy, climate-friendly balance in what you and your conference guests eat and drink.
Hotel
Hotel recommendations and selection
Select or recommend the most sustainable hotels in Aarhus – and link to their sustainability profiles on your conference website. If AU is paying for conference guests to stay overnight, it’s important you use AU’s purchasing agreement for hotels. If guests are funding their own accommodation, you may wish to refer them to this list of eco-certified hotels in and around Aarhus.
Transport
Transport to and from the conference
Consider how much and what kind of local transport you need. Perhaps it makes more sense to use public transport or ‘walking busses’ (where students guide the way), or consider whether the bus you book should run on biodiesel. Remember to use AU’s purchasing agreement for bus transport.
Ask people to sign up for the conference busses you arrange so that they won’t be half-empty.
Make it easy for the participants to choose public transport to and from the conference – explain it on the website and attach a map of the light rail (letbanen) and relevant bus lines so that the guests know what to do. Encourage participants to take trains rather than planes, if possible.
Encourage/arrange shared transport to/from the airport or other regions – suggest carpooling and make it the easy choice.
You’ll find lots of tips and facts about more sustainable travel in AU’s green guide to transportation. The guide also contains a carbon footprint calculator that you can use and that might be relevant to mention in your communication with participants.
Find more inspiration on how to arrange transport for your conference guests on VisitAarhus’ webpage about environmentally friendly transport in and around Aarhus.
Marketing and information
Include sustainability in your marketing and information
State on your website that we are focusing on sustainability in connection with our conferences at AU and, if relevant, describe the sustainability initiatives you’ve put in place at the conference. It’s important that participants are prepared for these initiatives and understand why they are required.
Make your communication digital – e.g. through web/email/app – instead of using printed materials and mailing letters.
Develop an app for conference information, if this makes sense for your event, or offer a mobile version of your website.
Conference supplies and venue decorations
Rethink your conference supplies and venue decorations
When using printed materials: Arrange with the printing office to have the materials printed on sustainable, FSC-certified paper or ask about the possibility of printing on stone paper if that makes sense.
Be creative and skip the usual programme on thick paper. Consider just using an A3 key hanger programme on sustainable paper instead (the A3 can be folded down to A6 and placed in plastic pockets, which can also hold specially designed name tags). Refer participants to your website, where they can find all the information they need as well as updates. This is one of the big money savers!
Only order the amount of conference supplies that you will need and think about reusing conference supplies whenever possible. For example, avoid writing dates or years on roll-up banners or borrow generic AU roll-up banners for your event. You can also reuse the roll up cassettes and just replace the banners.
Provide a ‘buffet’ of conference materials and supplies. People will only take what they need, and may even return items like pens and pads of paper after the event. Remember to return unused conference materials and supplies to Events and Communication Support after your event.
Think about how to minimise banner production by making generic banners that can be used again (e.g., banners without dates), or reuse banners after your conference. For example, you could donate banners to one of the several companies that make bags and other products out of banner fabric.
Reuse name tags, if you (still) use lanyards with a plastic pocket. For an even better solution, use our more sustainable ‘butterfly’ name badges and reuse the lanyards.
If you need to use bags for your guests, consider multi-use cloth tote bags instead of plastic. In fact, consider whether you really need give-aways at all. Are they necessary? Do they add anything to the experience?
During breaks, put up a slide with information about your conference’s sustainability on the digital information screens. Explain that tap water is potable in Denmark, and that participants should write their names on their water bottles so they can reuse them (and that you are asking them to reuse them), and remind them to return their lanyard and ID tag before leaving, as well as any other conference supplies (notepads and pens, for example).
Follow up on the conference by sending out a digital survey to participants. Ask the participants for suggestions about more sustainable solutions in their feedback (make your questions specific, e.g. ‘Did you notice our sustainable initiatives at the conference? Is this something you care about? Do you have any ideas?’). Share your knowledge and experiences across AU/in the conference knowledge-sharing network and with Events and Communication Support.
Be aware that many of the flowers available from florists are imported over long distances, so ask your supplier to use local and/or seasonal flowers or grasses in bouquets and arrangements wherever possible. You can also go with plants in pots instead, so they can be reused after the event.
If you need tablecloths, tableware or lighting, ask your supplier about the most sustainable options, and avoid single-use tableware if at all possible. Consider using LED lighting instead of candles.
Sustainable themes
Planning a social programme with a sustainable theme
Consider including guided tours to hidden or quirky places in Aarhus such as Kulbroen, Godsbanen, small gardens or Vanebrudspalæet, or invite your guests to coffee at ‘Skraldebaren’ at Godsbanen, where they can learn about reusing coffee grounds from the city’s cafes, cultivating fungi and other interesting projects. This presents Aarhus as a city with a focus on sustainability, collaboration and entrepreneurship.
- Give your guests an unconventional experience that stands out and that gives them something to talk to each other about – and that they remember! This helps create value
The refuse triangle
The refuse triangle is like an upside-down dietary pyramid – the best options are at the base. Note that direct reuse is above recycling – so it’s better to reuse things like nametags than recycling them, for example. Things that can no longer be reused should be recycled, as a matter of course.
Buy sustainable gifts and conference supplies
We are also working to make our selection of gifts and merchandise more sustainable. Read more about AU's sustainable water bottles and organic cotton tote bags here.
Water bottles
Aarhus University’s 0.5-litre sustainable water bottles are available with Danish and English texts, as well as in an Aarhus BSS version.
The water bottles can be used again and again. They are BPA-free and dishwasher-safe. It’s a good idea to buy bottles for your conference guests to use. But remember to consider how your guests are going to fill and refill them.
You can buy sustainable water bottles on the AU web shop. They cost DKK 34.80 excluding VAT. If you have any questions, please contact kommunikation@au.dk.
Water bottles can also be purchased from the Stakbogladen bookshop on Fredrik Nielsens Vej or on the Stakbogladen website. They cost DKK 55 including VAT.
Good advice about filling water bottles and hygiene:
We recommend that you rinse the bottles before use.
To avoid bacterial contamination, never fill water bottles in the restroom!
Ask for permission from your canteen to fill bottles in their kitchen, in compliance with the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration’s rules –but make sure the top of the bottle and the tap don’t touch, particularly when refilling the bottle.
Tote bags
AU’s tote bags are made of organic cotton and are a more sustainable alternative for packaging conference materials and supplies or as merchandise for participants. You can buy the tote bags in the web shop.
Green conference handbook, collaboration and communication
Green conference handbook
Green collaboration with VisitAarhus and Aarhus Events
Events and Communication Support works closely with VisitAarhus to promote sustainable conferences. There are lots of useful links on the VisitAarhus website to resources where you can learn more about sustainability initiatives in the Aarhus region.
Read the article (in Danish): Aarhus er den 3. mest bæredygtige turistdestination på internationalt index
You’ll also find lots of information and news about the City of Aarhus’ sustainability and climate initiatives on the Go Green with Aarhus website.
Good advice about sustainability communication
It’s important that you put some thought into how you present your sustainability initiatives in your communication with participants and through other channels, for example the conference website. Of course, you should explain what you’re doing, but be as diplomatic, transparent and concrete as possible in your communication. Avoid using vague language that can be misinterpreted. Don’t use descriptors like ‘sustainable’ or ‘climate-friendly’ unless you have the data or certifications to back up your claims. Instead, use language like “We are taking steps to become more sustainable,” and explain what you’re doing in specific terms.
For example, instead of calling your event a “sustainable meeting”, use language like “a meeting with vegetarian catering and locally sourced food”. Or instead of saying “sustainable transport”, say “transport on busses that run on biodiesel”. While you might find yourself wanting to make more sweeping claims to get your reader’s attention, keeping your text specific will help you avoid the greenwashing trap. Refer to AU’s climate strategy as a background and framework for your communication. Read a guide to communicating about sustainability that also explains the legal aspects:
Would you like to know more?
If you’re interested in learning more about how Aarhus University is working to contribute to sustainable development through research and education as well as its own operations, find out more here
