Carbon Offsetting

HTAi is making a deliberate commitment to ensure that all environmental aspects are considered in the planning and execution of the Meeting. An event of this magnitude (which expects to draw one thousand participants) has the potential to generate large amounts of greenhouse gases but also provides an opportunity to make a difference as an activity conducted with environmental responsibility.  

Within this context, the Local Organizing Committee of HTAi 2012 has signed a partnership with Bilbao City Council with the aim of turning the event into an example of sustainability. As a result, Bilbao City Council is laying a new type of paving tiles in pedestrian areas. Traditional in appearance, the tiles feature the logo of this year’s Meeting and incorporate an additive (GeoSilex®) capable of absorbing carbon dioxide, the major contributor to the greenhouse effect. Each square meter of this ecological tile cleans 5,000 cubic meters of air over its lifetime (12 to 15 years). The tile in contact with carbon dioxide will harden and gain weight but not volume.
www.geosilex.com  

As part of our environmental policy we aim to fulfil the following commitments:

• Use an online registration system and send certificates electronically.
• Distribution of presentations electronically and posted on the website in downloadable format in order to reduce paper consumption.
• Provision of conference materials in a reusable pocket folder made from recycled materials.
• Make reasonable efforts to adjust meeting room temperatures to conserve energy.
• Recycling (paper, plastic, glass, and cans).
• To the extent practicable, use reusable dishes, cutlery and linens, and avoid unnecessary disposable items.

We have also made our best efforts to work with hotels and conference facilities that implement environmentally friendly policies.  

Since it first opened its doors, the main focus of the Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall has been not only to provide optimum facilities, but to address the strategic challenges linked to implementing a management system based on environmental commitment (understood as the adoption of all the necessary measures to guarantee the right to a safe, healthy and ecologically sustainable environment), among others.
www.euskalduna.net  

The Hotel Meliá Bilbao, as the official conference hotel, also has a Global Sustainability Policy in place, implemented through an environmental management strategy. Among the actions taken is the observance of the principle of "think globally - act locally". It seeks to preserve the natural environment of the destinations in which the company operates, and to contribute to the reduction of environmental impact (management waste, control of discharges into drains, energy and water efficiency, air emissions control, presence of native plants in the green areas of the hotel).
rrhh.solmelia.com

THE EUROPEAN GREEN CAPITAL AWARD 2012

Vitoria-Gasteiz has been appointed European Green Capital 2012. A triumph that has taken over three decades of environmental policies developed over the years and the commitment of a citizenry that has become an example for the entire European Community in relation to recycling, mobility or water consumption.

The European Commission wishes to recognise the efforts of European cities to solve environmental problems and improve the quality of life of their citizens, at the same time reducing the pressure on the global environment. The European Green Capital Award was created with this in mind. The Award was launched by the European Commission in 2008. The winners were Stockholm (Sweden) for 2010, and Hamburg (Germany) for 2011.

In 2010 the second edition was launched to select the cities that would become the capitals in 2012 and 2013. Vitoria-Gasteiz has won the title for 2012, and the French city of Nantes for 2013.

Vitoria-Gasteiz is an environmentally advanced city thanks to its ambitious plans to combat climate change through its air quality, its Green Belt, water conservation plan, waste management, energy efficiency, sustainable town development, its parks and gardens, cycling lanes and its modern public transport system.

Click here to see Vitoria-Gasteiz Tour and Salburua Park.