CODA 22
Coda is a global community of healthcare professionals dedicated to improving clinical education & to advocating for broader health threats that impact our patients & communities. It is administered by a medical education and health promotion charity called the Critical Care Education Trust.
Public Disclosure Statements
Pre-Event
- Certification type: Event
- Year: 2022
- Publication date: 07/09/2022
“Taking this action was the pathway consistent with our mission.”
Type of certification
Event
How long have you been certified carbon neutral?
Since September 2022.
Why are you carbon neutral?
‘Coda Earth’ is a core focus area for Coda. As a healthcare community, we recognise the climate emergency as the greatest threat to the health of our patients. We are outcome focussed & have recently released a series of actions that help mitigate the impact that healthcare has on the environment.
As such, it was paramount that we extended this consideration to our in-person event and we are committed to making our event as sustainable as possible.
What are the benefits of your carbon neutral certification?
Sustainability has been front of mind throughout the entire event planning process. Taking this action was the pathway consistent with our mission.
In addition to saving money (by avoiding things like printed collateral on site), the most significant benefit has been the collaboration achieved between stakeholders.
All suppliers have worked together throughout the development of this event to reduce emissions where possible. By considering things such as the entire lifecycle of products, sourcing local materials, avoiding interstate freight, and increasing awareness within teams, we have all played a part in making this event carbon neutral.
What offset project do you support?
A wind farm project in Taiwan.
Why did you choose this project?
This renewable energy project in Taiwan avoids emissions by reducing reliance on fossil fuels. One of the Coda Earth action areas is the Shifting of Energy from a reliance on fossil fuels to renewables– so this project was a no-brainer!
How can the community support you?
A priority for us has been sharing knowledge within the broader community around how to run more sustainable events. Increased awareness of the alternatives that are available is essential to forging a more sustainable path. Spread the word & learn from our experience!
What else are you doing to reduce emissions?
We are conscious of the emissions generated from travel to and from events, so we record all of our content and release this for free post-event (as podcasts & videos).
We have also chosen to protect local Australian biodiversity by investing in a conservation project which protects Victoria's ancient forests. We are happy to be able to invest money back into the region where we are holding the event.
In addition to this, some of our activities to reduce emissions include:
- Using local suppliers
- Leveraging the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’s 100 mile menu & other sustainability initiatives (e.g. conscious electricity)
- Considering the lifecycle of all products (e.g. upcycling leftover collateral to be re-purposed as mattress fillings & arts & craft material)
- Engaging sustainable materials onsite including furniture made from recycled plastics
- Avoiding single-use plastics & printed onsite collateral.
In an effort to share our knowledge gained throughout this process, we have developed a series of “sustainability stories” which are available on our website. These range from large to small initiatives, designed to inspire others to lean into sustainable events.
What advice would you give to a business considering certification?
Put sustainability at the centre of your event & liaise with suppliers and stakeholders to see how they can help. Every small initiative adds up! Most importantly understand your mission and approach every decision guided by that mission.