Geneva 2010 Makes Participants Ponder on Sustainability
At Geneva 2010 “Health and sustainable development,” the name is the game. The organizers mean to influence participants in their daily activities. The conference has not only been organized in a way that natural resources are used sparingly and with care, it also aims to raise participants’ awareness for a environmentally friendly behavior, both at work and at home.
"It's simple”: is the slogan with which participants of Geneva 2010 are to acquire a taste for sustainability in their everyday life. At every turn in the conference building, they bump into a message –when ordering a snack in the cafeteria or washing their hands in the bathroom. Dozens of red signboards in different shapes and sizes display messages such as “Reduce - reuse - recycle!” or “Less meat is a win-win-win situation!” The background is as simple as obvious: people who eat less meat do first of all something for their own health, secondly they protect the climate as producing meat burns a lot of fuel, and thirdly, it cuts their household budget.
"We want to sensitize participants to these topics and make them think twice before doing or buying something”, said Andreas Biedermann, a member of the conference organization and one of the initiators of the campaign, "At best, they will also consider a more sustainable option at their work place.” This will require a change of thinking. Geneva 2010 will be truly sustainable if it contributes to a change in attitude. The fact is that 98 per cent of the conference’s pollution is caused by participants traveling to attend. The actual event in Geneva accounts for the remaining two per cent. To put it in other words: The “It’s simple” signboards primarily aim at stirring participants’ conscience and making them swap their old habits for new ones that will make them contribute to a healthier planet when they return.
Scientific studies have also shown that these kind of wake-up calls, or prompts as they are also called, do have a motivational impact on people, for example in the area of promoting physical activity. In Geneva, this method is used for the first time to tackle the issues of “environment” and “health” in a combined fashion. “It is up to participants to find suitable opportunities to apply this concept,” Andreas Biedermann further explains. “That may be during a conference or as part of a special action week at the office.”
Further information on the sustainability concept of Geneva in 2010 and tips to increase people’s awareness for a more sustainable approach in their professional life are to be found on www.iuhpeconference.net/pages/sustainable_conference
