Sustainability practices

Here are some of the things we are doing to make this conference more sustainable.

In the category of digital consumption:

• We invited all participants to reduce their streaming quality and turn off their cameras while not presenting or interacting.
• In email interactions about the conference, we reminded people to delete emails that are no longer necessary.

In the category of purchasing:

• We chose gifts for our speakers from an Indigenous-owned supplier with eco-responsible packaging

In the category of food and beverages:

• We encouraged our caterer to use local and seasonal produce
• We ensured that the vast majority of our food was vegan or vegetarian
• We provided water jugs rather than bottled drinks
  
• We ensured that tea, coffee, and sugar were Fair Trade
• We provided a bulk vegan "milk" alternative (oat milk)
  
• We used minimal packing and served condiments (milk, sugar, honey, oat milk) in bulk
• We used real (rather than disposable) dishes
  

In the category of Decolonization, Accessibility, and EDI

• This conference celebrated and featured Indigenous voices.
  
• All Indigenous speakers and panelists are being compensated as per the Indigenous Elder and Community Protocol.
• We continue to abide by the recommendations on the territorial acknowledgment.
• We did not plan any events that would conflict with the Pikeskwatan Learning Series.
• Participants were asked to flag any particular accomodation needs when they registered, including childcare; we were able to accomodate all needs.
  
• Presenters were asked to use legible, 32-pt font (at least) on all slides. Good legible fonts include Verdana, Helvetica, and Arial.
• We followed accessibility guidelines for our webpages.
• All events were free and open to the public, as are the recordings.
  
• Facilitators, moderators, and hosts were informed and encouraged to use accessible and anti-oppressive facilitation styles.
  
• We established a code of conduct, posted on all online conference material.
  
• We scheduled 45-60-minute breaks between all synchronous events on Zoom so participants could stretch.
• Almost all events were recorded and are now available on the conference website so that they are easily accessible.

In the category of Awareness and Reporting:

• We are communicating the sustainability measures taken and actions that speakers, presenters, and participants can take.
  
• We are contributing to the Sustainability in Research section of Concordia's Sustainability Action Plan by increasing the visibility of sustainability research at Concordia.
•  We are surveying participants after the conference so as to be able to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions associated with organizing and hosting

For questions about the Celebrating Indigenous Expertise in Sustainability conference, please contact Rebecca Tittler.

For questions about the Sustainable Event Certification program, please contact Cassandra Lamontagne at the Office of Sustainability.