Confluence of Sustainability and Academic Conferencing: An Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of the 2022 AEESP Conference

Environmental academic conferences synergize efforts to protect people and the planet. However, in-person gatherings result in notable greenhouse gas emissions (usually quantified by global warming potential [GWP] indicator) and other environmental impacts. A hybrid, comprehensive environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted for the three-day 2022 AEESP Research and Education Conference: Environmental Engineering at the Confluence in St. Louis, MO. The LCA used primary data collected from conference participants and planners, employing four approaches based on changes to transportation and accommodation modeling assumptions to determine a range of impacts. The assessment found that attending the three-day conference resulted in 428 kg CO_2eq per person, which is between three and four times the emissions associated with the activities of a United States resident during three routine days. A total of 783 conference attendees traveled approximately two million cumulative miles across different intercity transportation methods. Intercity transportation contributed approximately two-thirds to the overall GWP associated with conference execution and exhibited a similar magnitude in many other impact categories. Accommodation, food, and conference venue building electricity also contributed notably to environmental burdens. The analysis allowed for the examination of particular conference decisions aimed at reducing environmental impacts. The study found that effective reduction methods include offering accommodation in university residence halls, enabling intercity bus transportation, encouraging carpooling and use of local public transportation, selecting accessible host locations, and serving plant-forward menus.