Green Attendee Pledge

We are concerned about the climate crisis and are actively trying to make changes to mitigate environmental impacts. We encourage the implementation of more sustainable practices and are committed to creating a more sustainable annual meeting. This year, we are continuing the Green Attendees program, which aims to encourage sustainable decision making when attending the meeting, whether in-person or virtual. Increasing our sustainability is an ongoing process, and we hope that improvements each year will build off the previous.

Please check the box during registration to take the pledge.

In-person Green Attendees pledge to:

• Be mindful of your travel carbon footprint. If driving, try to carpool or rent an electric vehicle. If flying, take the flight with the fewest connections.

• Go paperless. Use your phone to grab QR codes or photograph vendor leaflets. Remember some vendors also have virtual booths.

• Bring your own tote bag, lanyard, coffee mug, and water bottle. Reuse is always the most sustainable option!

• Reduce the impact of your hotel stay: opt out of laundry service (towels & sheets) and bring your own toiletries.

• Consider the sustainability of your food choices and try to choose protein sources that have lower climate impacts. For example: eat at least one meat-free meal; choose pork, chicken, or fish instead of beef; choose oat milk instead of almond milk if both are available. Be mindful of food and beverage waste, only order or take what you will eat. 

• When possible, avoid the use of single-use service wear (plates, cutlery, etc). 

• Reduce on-site transportation emissions by walking, sharing rides, taking public transportation, or utilizing Salt Lake City and Lime’s electric scooter program.  You can use the Annual Meeting online community to find ride-share partners to and from the airport.

• Take action. Be an advocate and talk with colleagues about your participation in the green attendee program; implement an improvement at your workplace; or write a letter to a local, state, or national politician expressing your concerns about the climate crisis and the need to make change. Stop by the Sustainability booth for ideas!

• Vote in local, state, and national elections.

• Support independently-owned establishments when eating or drinking out 

• Complete a post-conference survey sharing what you did and provide feedback about how to improve this program.

Virtual Green Attendees pledge to:

• If possible, adjust your monitor settings to reduce energy usage.  Dropping the brightness of your monitor from 100 to 70% lowers electricity usage 20%.  When not actively ‘attending’ put your computer into sleep mode, which can reduce energy consumption by up to 98%.
• Be mindful of the sustainability of your food choices during the annual meeting period and try to choose protein sources that have lower climate impacts.
• Take action: be an advocate and talk with colleagues about your participation in the green attendee program; implement an improvement at your workplace; or write a letter to a local, state, or national politician expressing your concerns about the climate crisis and the need to make change. 
• Vote in local, state, and national elections.
• Complete a post-conference survey sharing what you did and provide feedback about how to improve this program.

All Green Attendees pledge to:

• Recognize that we are in a climate crisis.
• Recognize that surviving the climate crisis cannot be achieved through our individual actions alone and collective actions including voting, continued advocacy and working to induce business and institutional changes are also required.
• Discuss sustainability at their home institutions or studios.
• Consider ways they can contribute to field-wide sustainability efforts and communicate those discussions and/or efforts with peers in conservation and associated fields.
• Advocate for sustainability in their personal and professional lives.