Why not trying to reduce your carbon footprint when attending ESMC 2025 ?

Attending a great international event such as the ESMC is a must-do for any mechanician. Doing research means sharing knowledge, debating it and therefore requires meeting scientists and colleagues, building networks and new collaborations. Therefore, travelling has become a key part of an academic life whereas its carbon footprint is undeniable.

The climate crisis combined with the COVID-19 pandemic have forced us to rethink the way we have dealt with meeting and travelling. Out of this, one can sustain the momentum and keep this in mind when attending future conferences.

The organizers would like to encourage every participant to consider alternative routes to reach Lyon and thus contribute to minimize the overall carbon footprint of the event. If this can be highly difficult for attendees from out of Europe, greener options can be reasonably found for those coming from neighbouring countries.

As an example, the figures below illustrate the CO² emissions for a one-way trip to Lyon from some of the main European cities left figure) and for a trip from the airport to the city center (right figure).  

Replacing a short-haul or domestic flight with a train journey is definitely the most efficient solution. It takes certainly more time, requires more planning, sometimes commuting and can be a bit more expensive. However, it offers an opportunity to have a proficient and dedicated time to read, think, or write papers or proposals. Car-sharing with 4 passengers can be relevant depending on the type and quality of the road networks and might be considered.

This is still true when commuting from Lyon Saint-Exupery Airport to the Convention Centre (Figure 2). Using public transports can lead to a 10 times reduction compared to a taxi with a single passenger.

Mobility to the Congress Centre and around Lyon

Sustainable mobility is also possible once in Lyon!

As part of the ESMC, the organizers have arranged everything to facilitate local transportation for the congress participants. Thanks to the Lyon Metropole and the Welcome by ONLYLYON (WBOL) special welcome scheme for international events.

Lyon is fitted with a highly developed public transportation network (TCL) able to quickly take you to the Congress Centre but also to the heart of the city's main districts and key places via subways, buses, trolleybuses, trams and funiculars.


On-site footprint

A particular care will be taken when it comes to single-use items used during the congress: goodies, cups and expendable will be reduced to minimum or to least-impacting options. The food will also be mostly local and organic, with extensive plant-based options. In addition, different speeches will be dedicated to the environmental footprint during the congress. As educated people, we need to sustain the momentum and show some exemplarity!

Carbon calculators

Do not hesitate to use one of the following carbon calculator to estimate your transport impact:
> https://co2.myclimate.org/en/flight_calculators/new
> www.ecopassenger.org

Initiatives by the Lyon Convention Centre

The Lyon Convention Centre fully integrates the principles of sustainable development in their activities and even earned an ISO 20121 certification for implementation of sustainable development practices in their event-related activities. Major actions carried out include among others:

• Responsible Food & Beverage-management with distribution of unconsumed products to charities
• Elimination of plastic bottles
• Intelligent waste management, including sorting and recycling of biowaste
• Optimization of energy and water consumption as well as reducing CO2 emissions by promoting electric vehicles and offering respective recharging stations
• Contribution to biodiversity by harboring beehives on the roof of the venue