Welcome to our first RSA Update. These announcements are aimed at sharing some of the behind-the-scenes work that we are working on. In this first edition, we are focusing on our commitment to improving our sustainability performance and decreasing our environmental impact.
We are delighted to be able to share with you some of the areas of sustainability the Regional Studies Association has been working on.
To reduce our own carbon footprint, the RSA team have reduced courier materials sent to conferences and only essential staff members attend.
We schedule Association meetings during our conferences to ensure that we are as carbon efficient as possible in bringing together editors, the Board and committee members for different meetings.
At our conferences, we aim to reduce single-use plastic. Where possible we are using paper badges which can easily be recycled, and we ask you to leave your lanyard in one of our ‘Badge Return’ boxes, so that we can recycle and reuse these at future conferences.
The RSA has been reducing the amount of printed paper used at conferences for a number of years
We ran our first fully paper-free conference in 2019. At the 2020 Annual Conference even less printed paper will be used. Our conference programs are now accessed through our Conference App.
We encourage all our members to consider their journal subscriptions and to opt to read articles online rather than in print to reduce postal emissions and paper wastage.
Where possible, we recycle all paper waste from conferences. We encourage participants to bring a reusable water bottle and/or coffee cup to use during the conference.
Our reusable conference bags are made from (three) recycled plastic bottles.
Travelling to a conference creates by far the biggest environmental impact and we appreciate all the efforts participants make to reduce their carbon footprint. We help participants who wish to reduce their airmiles by providing details of train and coach companies.
We try to ensure that our conference hotels are in close proximity to bus stops and bike hubs, so the venue can be reached by bus, but is also within walking distance from our suggested hotels.
Following a successful trial at our 2019 Student and Early Conference, we are holding our inaugural and fully carbon-choice conference at the University of Staffordshire in March 2020.
Remote participants in regional hubs around the world will be able to join in the discussion, present papers, and network with those attending in person.