The European Respiratory Society (ERS) has announced the theme for the upcoming ERS International Congress as ‘Pollution, climate change and sustainable developments’. Complementing the theme, ERS has also confirmed details of several activities geared towards improving the sustainability of its flagship event, which has been staple of the respiratory calendar and at the forefront of respiratory medicine for more than 30 years.
The ERS congress programme is designed to accommodate the wide spectrum of respiratory topics – catering to a broad audience of multidisciplinary professionals, however, each year a theme is selected to shine a particular light on a priority area. In 2023, the congress programme will feature several sessions on air pollution and present the latest respiratory-focused research in this area.
ERS Congress Co-chair Prof. Marisa Bonsignore emphasised the significance of this theme – touching on the location of the event, related ERS activities and acknowledging the global importance of this topic.
“Pollution, climate change and sustainable developments should be priority points on everyone’s agenda. ERS has advocated for clean air for many years with a focus on the impact of pollution on respiratory health – most recently working at European level on the new EU Ambient Air Quality Directive to implement stricter standards for pollutants across Europe.”
“Though the topic of air pollution has been included in the Congress agenda historically, it was especially timely and very important for Prof. Sergio Harari and me, as co-chairs from Italy, to put this topic in the spotlight this year, especially as Milan is in the Lombardy region, one of the most polluted regions in Europe. It is also timely as a theme because ERS is doing important work around evaluating its own contributions to sustainability.”
ERS President, Prof. Carlos Robalo Cordeiro explained the ERS position and noted that this year, the theme goes far beyond the presentation of related research:
“In presenting the latest research on respiratory conditions and the relationship between air quality and health, it is a must that we look inward and evaluate our own environmental impact as an organisation. More than that, we must take steps and make firm commitments to making our most important event as sustainable as it can be in the coming years.”
As part of its registration process this year, ERS is collecting details of travel and accommodation of all its delegates/staff/faculty to capture an accurate picture of the emissions associated with the event. The data collected will guide future decisions and provide an important point of measurement to improve upon.
“Our commitment is to make our Congress as sustainable as it can be. We do have work to do to adapt and improve in this area, which is why a point of measurement is so important – we must and can demonstrate our improvements year by year until we reach our goals.”
Some of the actions ERS has already taken to improve the environmental impact of the Congress include: reducing the audience capacity for the event and making online attendance possible; selecting venues, third-party providers and partners who demonstrate good environmental practices; implementing staff policies to favour environmentally conscious travel options; reducing the use of single use plastics at the event; introducing biodegradable pockets for event lanyards; ceasing to print programmes, press packs and venue maps – offering online resources only.
Prof. Cordeiro went on to note that the Congress platform will also be utilised to contribute further funds to global climate protection/clean air projects, and to encourage its own community and the general public to evaluate their own impact and make positive changes.
“As well as continuing to make essential practical changes, we also commit to making substantial contributions to climate protection projects. This year, we asked all onsite delegates to make contributions to this at the point of registration, and ERS has pledged to double the donation made.”
“In addition, there will be several awareness raising activities taking place within the Congress centre and in public spaces within Milan, designed to encourage our colleagues and the general public to take stock of their actions, understand the issues relating to lung health and air pollution and like ERS, make changes to improve”.
Read more about the myclimate climate protection projects ERS has selected to contribute to: