IPS to hold Sri Lanka’s first CarbonNeutral conference

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam

As Sri Lanka is gearing up to host the sixth annual South Asia Economic Summit (SAES), the event will be the first carbon neutral conference to take place in the country.

Organised by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), the summit is set to take place from 2 to 4 September 2013 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo.

To reduce the carbon footprint of the conference, IPS has entered into a partnership with the Carbon Consulting Company (CCC) which has helped the institute to obtain the ‘CarbonNeutral Event’ certification from the CarbonNeutral Company, UK.

IPS Executive Director Dr. Saman Kelegama revealed carbon credits have already been purchased from the CarbonNeutral Company for this purpose. Acknowledging that climate change is becoming a critical issue for all countries in the South Asia region, he said: “We are happy that the CCC is partnering with us to bring in a sustainability focus to this important event and certify it as CarbonNeutral.”

Kelegama stated that the institute felt it was vital to have a process that is internationally recognised. “We wanted a credible assessment processed. We never thought of collaborating with a local certification for this,” he stressed.

CCC Chief Operating Officer Sanith De S. Wijeyeratne added to this by saying that the company immediately extended its support when IPS approached it with the unique initiative. “We are privileged to be a part of Sri Lanka’s first ever carbon neutral conference. This demonstrates real commitment to the climate change agenda and I hope this will be an example for others to follow,” he said.

Speaking on the methodologies that will be employed for this purpose, Wijeyeratne pointed that CCC follows an internationally accepted certification system. “Our calculations are governed by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol which is the international standard for calculating GHG emissions,” he affirmed, and added that the offset process will be executed through the CarbonNeutral Company in accordance to the CarbonNeutral protocol.

Meanwhile, noting the growth of MICE tourism in the country, IPS Research Economists Anushka Wijesina stated that while Sri Lanka should be satisfied with the fact that an increasing number conferences and seminars with foreign participants are being organised each year, it is imperative to identify the impacts of these events on the environment.

“Most of us tend to ignore these elements. The hotels, air travel domestic transport, conference materials, and many other aspects do contribute to the carbon footprint. Organisers need to think harder on ways to mitigate these effects on the environment,” Wijesinha elaborated.

Wijesinha, who is also the Chief Coordinator of the SAES highlighted that at every summit there is a focus session on environmental challenges and climate change issues faced by South Asia. Wanting to “walk the talk”, he asserted that IPS chose to go for this carbon neutral effort to truly embody the sustainability spirit in this year’s summit.

Pointing the importance of sensitising individual participants on their personal carbon footprint when attending an international event such as the SAES, Wijesinha shared that an ‘opt-in’ scheme will be introduced where visiting delegates will be given the option of contribute to offsetting their own carbon footprint.

“The opt-in scheme, which is actually an experiment, along with other many elements that we have incorporated into the summit will symbolise a spirit of sustainability including the use of eco-friendly stationery products, and green transport,” he stated.