A little more conversation, a little more action, please: the carbon footprint of travelling to conferences of the European Health Psychology Society

Lisa M Warner; Ruvn Fleiner; Gudrun Sproesser; James A Green; Lucia Rehackova; Jennifer Inauen; Vera Araújo-Soares; Claudia Teran-Escobar

doi:10.1080/21642850.2024.2447454

A little more conversation, a little more action, please: the carbon footprint of travelling to conferences of the European Health Psychology Society

Health Psychol Behav Med. 2025 Jan 2;13(1):2447454. doi: 10.1080/21642850.2024.2447454. eCollection 2025.

Authors

Lisa M Warner¹, Ruvn Fleiner¹, Gudrun Sproesser², James A Green³, Lucia Rehackova⁴, Jennifer Inauen⁵, Vera Araújo-Soares⁶, Claudia Teran-Escobar⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, MSB Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
² Health Psychology, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria.
³ School of Allied Health and Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
⁴ Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
⁵ Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁶ Center for Preventive Medicine and Digital Health (CPD), Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
⁷ Department of Psychology, University Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France.

Abstract

Introduction: The environmental impact of on-site conferences, with air travel as the primary contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, has prompted a surge in research in recent years. The objective of this report is to raise awareness and stimulate transformation in the organisation of meetings of the European Health Psychology Society (EHPS).

Methods: We conducted estimations of travel-related CO₂eq emissions of EHPS conferences in 2019, 2022, and 2023, and performed projections for 2024 and 2025. Additionally, we developed hypothetical scenarios for selected European cities as centroids for future conferences.

Results: EHPS conferences with an online option result in significant reductions in CO₂eq emissions when compared to on-site only conferences. The selected European locations of these conferences enable more delegates to choose alternative forms of transportation instead of flying, such as trains, cars or buses, and consequently lead to significantly lower CO₂eq emissions.

Discussion: The principal avenues for curbing travel-related emissions while maintaining on-site attendance are the provision of hybrid conferences with enhanced online participation and the optimisation of venue locations.

Keywords: CO2 equivalent; air travel; flying; greenhouse gas emissions; sustainable mobility.

Grants and funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article .