Introduction – Reducing our environmental impact

Meetings in person intensify the professional exchange and improve communication. Unfortunately, in-person conferences have a much greater environmental impact than digital events. We aim to keep the ecological footprint of the TERRA-conference as small as possible. Therefore, we make sure that all areas of the TERRA-conference, such as traveling and accommodation, are designed and implemented as sustainably as possible. The following text describes our action points to reduce our environmental impact and suggests how you can support us.

Traveling

How participants travel to and from the conference has a major impact on the level of emissions generated and the environmental impact. The following points give suggestions to minimize the environmental footprint of traveling:

• We recommend choosing public transportation, such as a bus or train, instead of a car. If you have to drive by car, carpool with other conference participants.
• If possible, we recommend traveling to Boppard by train instead of by plane. There are night trains to Frankfurt from Minsk, Warsaw, and Vienna.
• If you are traveling by plane, we recommend taking the train from the airport to Boppard instead of taking a cab or renting a car.
• There is the possibility to offset your carbon footprint. Many airlines offer various programs for this purpose.

 

Accommodation

Another important point is the choice of accommodation. The hotels selected for the conference have sustainability concepts and offer barrier-free rooms.

Hotel Rheinhotel Bellevue  

The hot water supply of the hotel is partly based on solar energy. In addition, the hotel has a modern heating system, double insulation of the building and the roof, soundproof windows, and a heat exchanger for heating the swimming pool. Sustainability is also considered in the gastronomic area, for example by using regional products, respecting animal welfare, or avoiding disposable packaging. To be able to fulfill these goals, the hotel has regional contractual partners, such as Highland Cattle Hunsrück, Fleischwaren Colmi, and Frische Paradies. Other aspects of the sustainability concept include paper-saving methods, the use of biodegradable cleaning agents, and proper waste separation.

Residence Bellevue

The Residence Bellevue has an innovative energy concept that includes geothermal energy, a fresh air supply, hot water solar system, motion detectors, heat exchangers, and maximum heat insulation. An e-charging station has been installed in the hotel garage. Since the catering and management run in conjunction with the Rheinhotel Bellevue, the same sustainability concepts are followed.

Hotel Das Ebertor

The hotel´s energy supply system was modernized with a new photovoltaic system. In catering, preference is given to regional and sustainably produced food and beverages. This is achieved among other things by the contract with Peter Hünten Fleischwaren GmbH in Löf at the river Mosel.

Venue

The venue was chosen with the following aspects in mind:

• The venue is within walking distance of all hotels and the train station.
• The premises of the city hall are adequate for the size of the conference and not oversized.
• The conference venue has all the conditions that allow participation for persons limited in mobility.
• The energy system of the conference venue will be modernized shortly by the construction of a photovoltaic system.

 

Catering

The selection of catering is based on various sustainability aspects:

• The products used are regional, seasonal, transported in an environmentally friendly way, and ecologically compatible. Fairtrade is considered for products that are not regionally available, such as coffee or tea.
• Vegetarian and vegan alternatives are offered. For meals with meat, attention is paid to meat products from organic farming with high animal welfare standards. The fish offered comes from non-endangered stocks.
• Only drinks from reusable bottles are served.
• The use of single-use-plastic is avoided.
• Quantities are offered as needed. Leftover food is donated to charitable organizations.
• To keep waste to a minimum, efforts are made to avoid small packaging.

 

Materials

Throughout the conference, the principle of no paper is followed. The following steps are taken for this purpose:

• We kindly ask you not to print out the registration confirmation, but to take it with you in a digital form on your smartphone.
• The program booklet will not be available in printed form. You will find QR codes at the conference site, which you can use to open the program on your smartphone.
• Documents that must be paper-based are printed double-sided and on environmentally friendly paper products.

We also take care to be as sustainable as possible in other conference areas such as thrifty water consumption and the use of rechargeable batteries or energy-efficient devices.

Conference Satchel

At the conference, we will give you materials that are produced in an environmentally friendly and socially responsible manner.

Feedback

We are looking forward to sharing a sustainable TERRA-conference with you. Please help us to make the event as sustainable as possible. If you have any suggestions or ideas on how to make the conference even more sustainable, please feel free to write us an e-mail or speak to us directly at the conference. We welcome your feedback on the TERRA sustainability concept.