PraxisAuril's annual conference, #PrAConf22, has been listed as a finalist for the ABPCO's Excellence Awards as Best Sustainable Event in the same category as COP26 and the 22nd World Science Congress. The theme of the conference was 'KE is a People Business' and PraxisAuril took this one step further to include its host city, Brighton. They worked with their venue, Brighton Conference Centre and Visit Brighton, to ensure #PrAConf22 included initiatives such as:
- Making a donation to a local charity
- Home compostable name badges
- Non-selling of bottled water
- The use of QR codes
- Using the venue's tannoy system and screens
This drive for the event to be sustainable came from PraxisAuril's own leadership team and membership. As board member and Associate Director Research and Enterprise and Head of Enterprise Services at the University of York, Amanda Selvaratnam stated:
#PrAConf22 was made as sustainable as it could be because, as representatives of innovators in the HE sector, it was important that we lead by example and try new ways of running a successful conference where everyone felt they had contributed to the sustainability of the event
This was echoed by PraxisAuril member and #PrAConf22 attendee, Tas Gohir, Senior IP and Commercial Research Manager at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust:
Given that climate change may be reaching an irreversible tipping point, organisations and individuals have a social responsibility for doing everything they can towards achieving sustainability for future generations. The critical importance of this becomes clearer everyday with global changes in weather patterns.
The winner will be announced on 9 December at the Birmingham ICC
To see more, watch this short film: https://bit.ly/3FLBAG2
