Sustainability Strategy
Through an ambitious sustainability agenda, Future Earth, the Belmont Forum, and Future Africa are aiming to make SRI2022 a “carbon minimalist” event. We are offering our participants to join the Congress online or in person. For the in-person portion of the Congress we approach sustainability in a holistic way, considering every aspect of the convening from the travel to Pretoria to the food that will be served during the coffee and tea breaks.
Travel
Traveling generates carbon emissions, but there are ways to compensate for those emissions and to support significant environmental projects.
As a fresh approach for 2022, SRI called for Idea Market proposals that can contribute to the removal of carbon from the Earth’s atmosphere. With this special call, SRI seeks to invest its carbon offset funds, included in all 2022 Congress registrations, in an innovative initiative that can be scaled up and effectively contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions of the Congress. The winning project will receive start-up funding of USD $3500 to be used for further development of the initiative. The winner will be announced at the Congress Gala Dinner.
The Congress makes use of eco-friendly transport with shared courtesy shuttles to and from hotels and Gautrain as the preferred option from the airport to Hatfield station. Delegates are encouraged to arrange with colleagues for shared transport where possible.
Venue
SRI2022 has chosen to partner with the Future Africa Institute of the University of Pretoria to host the in-person Congress.
The Future Africa campus is designed to revolve around a lifestyle of research excellence and collaboration. The conference center is the focal point of the campus, in which the sharing of knowledge as a collective is key to the success of the campus. Designed as a productive landscape, much of the vegetation is edible or useful for the campus’ studies. The architecture of the campus provides a living and functional testament of a predominantly Indigenous landscape as a food resource, and how this resource can be utilized. Plant species at Future Africa have been carefully selected with this in mind. The landscape also responds to prevalent African issues such as the scarcity of water and food resources. The campus demonstrates how South African heritage and Indigenous natural resources can be used to better lives by capitalizing on existing resources.
Future Africa Institute is committed to sustainable environmental practices which include:
- Commitment to minimize water and energy consumption by the use of natural light and energy-efficient LED lighting in its buildings and reuse policy in the accommodation.
- A bin composting system to dispose of kitchen waste.
- Commitment to recycle batteries, e-waste, glass, paper, and plastic.
- The City of Tshwane will support recycling initiatives for the SRI2022 Congress with the implementation of a waste separation system for glass, paper, plastic, and food items.
Food & Dining
Local and Vegetarian Meals. We are coordinating with Future Africa to offer Congress participants foods that are grown locally, whenever possible. The Congress will have a vegetarian day and offer vegetarian options at all meals. Please note that additional dietary specifications and requirements will be happily accommodated.
Dishware, Glassware, and Cutlery. We will only use stainless steel and porcelain dishware and cutlery products for all meals served during the Congress, and we recommend that Congress participants bring their own reusable water bottles and coffee mugs, since we will not be offering disposable cups for drinks. Reusable water bottles and mugs can significantly reduce the need for and production of petroleum-based products, and compostable tableware can significantly reduce our landfill waste and the substantial greenhouse gas emissions our waste industries produce.
Accomodation
All hotels selected for SRI2022 delegates are committed to reducing water and energy consumption with a sustainability policy in place. For the sustainability policies of individual hotels, please visit the hotel’s websites.