Sustainability At Congress

As part of the BSAVA’s commitment towards environmental sustainability, we have a number of initiatives spanning the organisation of this year’s Congress helping us working toward future Congress’s becoming carbon neutral events.

Thanks to our attendees filling in the carbon assessment questions in their registration journey, we are able to assess the carbon impact from attendee travel and accommodation at the event so that post event as an organisation we are able to invest in ways to offset this. We’d like to thank all our attendees for completing these questions to help enable us to do this!

A sustainable venue

Our venue for BSAVA Congress 2024, Manchester Central, aims to divert all waste from landfill. After removing all recyclables from their waste, anything non-recyclable is compacted into bales and transported to a combined heat and power facility. Here, energy is harvested from the residual waste to produce electricity, and also steam which produces thermal energy.

All kitchen and plate food waste including fruit and vegetable peelings and coffee grounds is sent to a process called Anaerobic Digestion, which speeds up the natural breakdown of food inside a large, sealed tank. This process emits a methane-rich gas which is captured and used to generate electricity.

Where possible, any unutilised food is donated to local charities:

Left-over, packaged food is donated to the Mustard Tree or Homeless Project
Raw/unprepped food, i.e. fruit and veg, is donated to Open Kitchen MCR
Hot food, i.e. from buffets is donated to Eat Well

Working with food suppliers championing organic and free-range

The venue works only with suppliers who champion organic and free-range meat and dairy produce and, where possible, their fish is line-caught and always from sustainable stocks. They also prioritise working with small scale farmers and artisan suppliers to ensure the highest quality, flavour and traceability of all our food and produce. We will only source from those who share our commitment to sustainability, Red Tractor-certified farming methods and Fairtrade.

Ethical merchandise for delegates

This year, all delegate bags distributed by the BSAVA are made using Flax; a natural plant fibre which uses much less water to produce than its rival, cotton. In terms of sustainability, Flax is often considered a preferred fibre with less harmful environmental impact, plus it has the added advantage of being much more durable than cotton meaning that it will last longer, adding to its sustainability. The factory which produces the bags is also Sedex registered, which means that they comply with all ethical and responsible practices.

We have also made a switch to bamboo lanyards this year. Bamboo is renowned for its eco-friendly properties, making it an ideal material for manufacturing lanyards. As one of the fastest-growing plants on Earth, bamboo replenishes quickly, minimising environmental impact. Additionally, bamboo requires minimal pesticides or fertilisers, aligning perfectly with the ethos of ethical promotional products for conferences and events. Its durability and versatility ensure that bamboo lanyards not only serve their practical purpose but also reflect our commitment to sustainability.

What our exhibitors can do

We also encourage our exhibitors to plan their merchandise cleverly. Such as increasing the use of QR codes to link to electronic information and reducing the number of printed items handed out across the event.

Showcase your efforts to be in with a chance of winning the 2024 Sustainability Award, given to the exhibitor who best demonstrates the use of sustainable construction materials, processes, giveaways and marketing tools. Email your entry to exhibition@bsava.com for the judges consideration

Dog Kennels made from the Exhibition!

You’d probably never guess this… but one person collects pallets of old graphics from the exhibition to make dog kennels and shelters from, and that’s pretty cool! Panels are also re-used in other builds where possible. All carpets will be sent for recycling at the close of show, any grass or vinyl’s will be removed and attempt to re-use, if possible, on small stands. Fabric graphics are also fully recyclable once they are sent back to the supplier and will begin the manufacturing cycle once again! NB. We have switched more of our graphics to fabrics this year, and many of our 2023 graphics have also been stored and are being re-used in the 2024 features.