Sustainable Event Commitment

2023 Accessible Publishing Summit
Sustainable Event Commitment

The National Network for Equitable Library Service (NNELS) acknowledges that its operations generate carbon emissions and is committed to producing the 5th Annual Accessible Publishing Summit in a way that reduces its carbon footprint and minimizes its negative environmental impact to make it as sustainable as possible. We also recognise the potential social benefit of the Summit, and aim to deliver an experience that is inclusive and accessible, and leaves a positive impact on the print disabled community at large, the local community in the event destination and both internal and external event stakeholders.

NNELS and The British Columbia Libraries Coop are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals 4 (Quality Education), 9 (Industry Innovation and Infrastructure) and 10 (Reduced Inequalities) in their vision of an equitable reading landscape where all reading material is available to all people regardless of reading preference or need.

The Summit will further support the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the following ways:

  • Working with vendors and stakeholders to measure waste, energy, transportation, food and beverage and social impact to create a baseline for continuous improvement
  • Ensuring sustainability, accessibility and diversity are prioritized in program design and speaker selection. (SDG 4 Quality Education, SDG 5 Gender Equality , SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities and SDG 13 Climate Action)
  • Minimizing waste by eliminating unnecessary event materials, and selecting the most sustainable option for event materials that are deemed critical to the success of the event. We will also eliminate single use plastic and encourage use of reusable water bottles. (SDG 12 Responsible Production and Consumption, SDG 13 Climate Action and SDG 14 Life Below Water)
  • Maximizing healthy, local and organic menu items where possible and diverting food waste from landfill by partnering with a local organization to donate excess food. (SDG 2 Zero Hunger, SDG 3 Good Health and Wellbeing, and SDG 9 Industry Innovation and Infrastructure)
  • Encouraging low carbon transportation options such as public transit and electric vehicles for attendee travel to and from the airport and within the event destination. We will also prioritize walkable venues to minimize the need for transportation during the event. (SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities and SDG 13 Climate Action)
  • Prioritizing partnering with vendors with a demonstrated commitment to sustainability in areas of energy efficiency, water usage and waste management (SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 17 Partnership for the Goals and SDG 13 Climate Action)
  • Communicating our sustainability commitments to internal and external stakeholders (SDG 17 Partnership for the Goals)
  • Identifying local community partners and/ or charities to support (SDG 4 Quality Education and SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities)

This sustainable event commitment represents the best efforts of the event organizers, to reduce the negative environmental impact, and increase the positive social impact of the Summit. We welcome input and feedback from all internal and external event stakeholders on continuous improvement opportunities.