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As we cross into the new year, we see a growing community of medical communications, pharma, and life sciences professionals focused on building innovative sustainability frameworks. The SEC’s proposed requirements on Scope 3 GHG reporting1 are expected to evolve, adding pressure to events and meeting planners looking to host carbon intensive large-scale engagements.
To advance our sustainability goals, compliance provider PROtect, LLC conducted a carbon audit for The Inception Company to quantify and reduce emissions for client (Scope 3 emissions) and in-house activities (Scope 1 and 2) using Sustain.Life’s GHG accounting framework,2 aligned with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and ISO 14064 emissions verification standards. The audit looks at the impact of standard live, hybrid, and virtual events.
We found that in just three days, a large National Sales Meeting, Speaker Training, or Plan of Action (POA) with 400 attendees generates 220 metric tons of carbon emissions—more than twice the environmental impact produced by Inception’s two studios in NJ and PA that run PandoTM over a nine-month span. When comparing the same live three-day meeting with a virtual meeting held on PandoTM, the carbon emissions are reduced to a negligible amount. This significant contrast highlights the heavy carbon footprint associated with travel-intensive industry events, emphasizing the need for sustainable alternatives in the event planning landscape.
According to calculations from PROtect and Sustain.Life, opting for hybrid event formats is an optimal strategy for reaching sustainability objectives without compromising audience engagement. Transforming a medium to large in-person event (with 150-400 attendees) into an equivalent hybrid format can slash emissions by up to 97%. This is achieved by having only essential participants, such as key speakers, moderators, and stakeholders, commute to the production site.
Hybrid solutions help the pharma industry deliver their key messaging by providing flexible and innovative in-studio/virtual options. Clients get to host more events in a hybrid format at a low carbon footprint, while maintaining the two-way interactivity levels of a live event.
Considering the long lineup of industry programs slotted for 2024, it’s key to invest in providers that offer low-carbon meeting formats. From a regulatory standpoint, the life sciences industry must comply with Scope 3 GHG reporting requirements, outlined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
As we develop our respective ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives, sustainable practices have now become an industry standard. Measuring, monitoring, and reporting GHG data is a proactive first step in staying ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation and sustainability within the realm of meeting planning.
References:
1. https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/proposed/2022/33-11042.pdf.
2. https://help.sustain.life/article/methodologies?id=5.