Summary
This 2020 commentary in Nature Food, authored by an international consortium of soil and food systems researchers, argues that agricultural research conferences should adopt more sustainable operational practices to reduce their environmental impact. The authors propose systematic measures including virtual participation, reduced travel requirements, and resource-efficient event design. The paper highlights an apparent contradiction between the research community's advocacy for sustainable food and farming systems and the carbon-intensive nature of traditional large in-person research meetings.
UK applicability
UK-based agricultural and food systems researchers attending international conferences would benefit from these proposals. The recommendations are particularly relevant to UK research institutions and funding bodies (such as BBSRC, NERC) that convene or support multi-national research networks and would face reduced travel and associated costs under such reforms.
Key measures
Carbon footprint of conferences; prevalence of virtual participation options; travel-related emissions from researcher attendance
Outcomes reported
The paper examines the environmental footprint of international agricultural research meetings and proposes operational changes to reduce carbon intensity. It reports on current practices and barriers to adoption of more sustainable meeting formats among the research community.
Topic tags
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