The Carbon Costs of In-Person Versus Virtual Medical Conferences for the Pharmaceutical Industry: Lessons from the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Abstract

BackgroundMany in-person congresses have shifted to a virtual format owing to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We assessed carbon emissions savings associated with virtual attendance at international medical congresses for a mid-sized pharmaceutical company, to identify which aspects are driving the carbon cost.MethodsWe assessed carbon emissions that were the responsibility of company attendees (including their guests) for the most attended congresses by employees (American Society of Clinical Oncology [ASCO], European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society [ENETS], European Society for Medical Oncology [ESMO], World Congress for NeuroRehabilitation [WCNR]). For in-person estimates, we considered travel, accommodation and congress attendance; for online estimates, we considered office and internet-related energy use. Emissions were defined using recognised data sources.ResultsFor 1723 anticipated in-person attendees, calculated total carbon emissions were 3,262,574 kgCO2e (mean per in-person company attendee, 1894 kgCO2e: ASCO, 4172; ESMO, 1479; WCNR, 1153; ENETS, 1009). For context, the average UK resident’s annual carbon footprint is 5600 kgCO2e. Travel accounted for 91–96% of total emissions, mainly through long distance and business-class air travel. Calculated total carbon emissions associated with 1839 virtual attendees were 19,095 kgCO2e (mean per virtual company attendee, 10.4 kgCO2e; equivalent to approximately 0.3–1.1% of in-person attendance emissions across all four congresses assessed).ConclusionCarbon emissions associated with virtual attendance were two orders of magnitude lower than for in-person attendance, and therefore the benefits of in-person attendance at medical congresses must be balanced against the carbon cost. Due diligence around who should attend and how they should travel to face-to-face meetings, and consideration of hybrid and domestic satellite options could be part of a balanced solution to reducing carbon emissions.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40290-022-00421-3.