Carbon Care action of IEEE-VPPC’10

A success story!

Conference / CO2 reduction / CO2 estimation / CO2 mitigation projects

Conference

  • IEEE Vehicular Power Propulsion Conference, Lille, September 2010 (lien: http://www.vppc2010.org),
  • 378 attendees from 35 countries, main topic “Clean Tech for transportation”,
  • Carbon care team managed by Anne-Laure Allègre, PhD student at University Lille1.


Carbon care step 1: reduction of the ecological footprint of the conference

It is the first way to reduce the impact on the climate of the conference and its organization. Several actions have been defined to reduce the ecological footprint of the conference:

  • taxi-bike for free from the conference centre to the hotels,
  • natural gaz buses for the Gala Dinner,
  • subway pass for free during the conference (offered by Siemens),
  • no disposal products for plate, glasses, napping, etc.,
  • use of local and fresh produc for luneches and dinner,
  • selection of hotels downtown near the conference centre,
  • brochure with sustainable action in hotels,
  • no conference bag, a wood USB stick,
  • bio-shirt for the volunteer, carbon care booth,
  • video-conference for the meeting of the organizing committee.

 

Volunteer and bio-shirts / Taxi-bikes / a green team / local but delicious food / students and e-bikes.

Carbon care step 2: estimation of the equivalent CO2 due to the conference

The second step consists in estimating with simple tools the total greenhouse emissions of the conference expressed in equivalent tons CO2:

  • Questionnaire inserted in the registration form to have travel distance and transport modes,
  • Estimation of Electric consumption, lunches, washes, etc.,
  • Transport and accommodation during conference: number of nights, transport modes, distance between hotels and conference, etc.,
  • Information of attendees: Carbon care stand, report at Gala Diner, Carbon care Prize, etc.




Total CO2 equivalent emission = 775 tons of CO2
CO2 equivalent ton price = 30 €

Mrs Carbon Care / Complex calculations / Mrs Taxi-bike / Carbon care stand / Carbon care Prize / Report at Gala Dinner

Carbon care step 3a: international project for mitigation

The equivalent CO2 due to the transport of attendees (75%) have been mitigated by the participation to the reforestation of a National Park of Argentina:

  • Argentina, Chubut Province, Los Alerces Nacional Park,
  • in February 2008, 7200 ha of forests destroyed by a violent fire outbreak,
  • since 2009, a reforest action is conducted with native species and foster recolonization by late succession species, in close collaboration with the school of the Park.

 
VPPC’10 funding: 20 000 € to reforest about 20 ha (25 000 natives trees)
Anne Laure Allègre, 1 month volunteer in the Park (+video)



More information: http://l-arbre-a-noix.org/Reforestation/ProjetReforestation.htm  (with a movie).




The destroyed area / collecting seeds / the tree nursey in the Park / Mrs Carbon care in action / the final step with pupils (From a report of Anne-Laure Allègre (carbon care chair) & Nicolas Quendez, Los Alerces Park, April 2011).

Carbon care step 3b: regional project for mitigation


The equivalent CO2 due to the conference organization (25%) have been mitigated by the participation to the reforestation of a Northen France Park:

  • Project of restoration of the edges of the Deûle Park (Mosaic),
  • Plantation of 30 pedunculate oaks, principal essence of the local forests, on the parking of the “Mosaïc garden”.


VPPC’10 funding: 4 000 € to plant 30 seven-years oakes
Inauguration by Prof Bouscayrol (general chair) and JF Sergent (carbon care team) in March 2012




Inauguration speech / the general chair at work / VPPC volunteers and bio-shirts / hard work for student volunteers.