The Nitrogen Footprint for INI2020

Global scientific conferences bring together scientists from all over the world. The related travel activities, the facilities of the venue, and the catering influence the environmental footprint of such events. With our work, we present the environmental footprint, specifically the nitrogen related footprint, of the 8th Global Nitrogen Conference (INI2020), which will take place from 3rd to 7th May 2020 in Berlin, Germany. We will compare INI2020’s nitrogen footprint to that of other conferences and will present opportunities for footprint reductions.

Environmental footprints of conferences and attendees are still rather large mainly due to necessary travel activities to attend the conference. Consequently sustainability aspects of travel are gaining the attention of international institutions (EC (2018), UNEP (2012). Several conferences have already calculated their nitrogen footprint to raise awareness about and reduce their conference-related nitrogen emissions (Leip et al. 2014). To reduce the environmental footprint of the INI2020 conference, the conference organizers adhered to the national guidelines of the German Ministry for the Environment and the German Environment Agency (BMU, 2015).