Using the WHO EURO checklist for healthy and sustainable meetings

Abstract

Abstract Following the decision by the EUPHA/EPH Conference Green Club to use the WHO EURO checklist for healthy and sustainable meetings for the EPH Conferences in Ljubljana 2018, the Green Club thought it a good idea to set a baseline on the health-related and sustainability measures for conferences organised in Europe. If we could compare several European conferences on public health related topics with our own EPH Conference, we could formulate objectives for the future, to be included in the next EPH Conference strategy 2020-2025. The ambitious idea of the Green Club was that EPH Conferences should always be above the average of other conferences organised in EUPHA, whilst continuing to strive for being the best in Europe. The executive director of EUPHA decided to use the WHO EURO checklist for all the meetings and conferences she would attend in 2019. In the planning for 2019 were 20 meetings throughout Europe. It is expected that this would provide a nice baseline. The WHO EURO checklist includes questions on venue and transport, invitation and conference materials, food, beverages, tobacco-free, physical activity classes and breaks, waste and use of sustainable materials. Special attention was given to people with disabilities. The interim results (until the end of April) show that a large fraction of the questions can only be answered if you are the conference organiser, not a conference participant. This was true for questions like: ‘Does the venue use energy-efficient practices?’. Some questions address more fundamental issues, e.g.: ‘Is holding a meeting in a virtual format ... an option?’. The issues of travel mode and/or emission offsetting are not included. Overall, the checklist approach seems useful. Short of supporting benchmarking, it helps collecting qualitative information and model solutions, and may foster networking among associations towards healthy and sustainable meetings.