In establishing a (new) society with the main aim of organizing large live academic gatherings at a time of accelerating environmental crisis, we are keenly aware of the ambiguity and tensions underlying our efforts. While we firmly believe that the need for dialogue, community and learning at this point in time justifies the upcoming events’ environmental footprint, we find it important to include environmental considerations in the collective and individual planning of ELU-S yearly events.

What we do:

• We endeavour to consider carbon footprint, alongside questions of diversity (of perspectives, topics, disciplines, as well as all sorts of life circumstances) and fairness in selecting plenary speakers;
• When we do invite speakers from overseas, we encourage them to plan their talk as part of a larger regional visit;
• The  suggestions outlined below for conference participants also apply and are explicitly taken up in our communications with speakers.

How you can help:

• Please keep in mind that for train trips of up to 6 hours you may ultimately be (even qua travelling time!) very well served by swapping a crammed flight with airport transits for a much more pleasant train trip! Many of us have recently perfected the art of working while travelling by train (this is how the text you are reading was written!) and would not consider going back!
• Up to 8 hours to the main station of the Conference city, we still encourage you to consider catching a train – it may be a longer ride, but as with science, there are many things to be said in favour of slow travel.
• If you are going to fly – please remember: the longer the flight, the higher the emissions. Especially if you are flying overseas, please consider staying a few extra days, visiting other Universities nearby, scheduling meetings with colleagues, or seeing friends and family, so as to avoid other travel in the same year.
• Please do not fly overseas just for this conference unless you think you have, in a given year, very pressing reasons to be there.

What about carbon offsets?

As scholars of Law in Europe, we should be aware that offsets enjoy at best an ambiguous reputation in European laws, being often considered a form of greenwashing. For this reason, ELU-S does not advise trying to compensate your travel emissions with offsets. Instead, in case you or your employer have funds available to this end, there are a number of initiatives you may consider supporting:

• CarbonKiller allows you to buy emission rights in the capped ETS system – this means that your emissions would actually be offset. It is of course significantly more expensive than most offset programs – in case we did not have sufficient reasons to doubt the latter’s credibility ;)
• StayGrounded lobbies for equitable mobility policies.

Please reach out to ELU-S if you have great suggestions for organisations that should be added to this list.