Environmental Strategy Statement

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists’ (RANZCP) 2024 New Zealand Conference Organising Committee and Outshine are committed to the use of sustainable practices to limit our lasting impact on Wellington and the surrounding environment and to work for best outcomes in an equitable, economically viable and ethical manner, to deliver the conference. The sustainability journey can be overwhelming and confusing. We aim to make all policies and information easily accessible to our partners and delegates to provide support and inspire their participation.

We undertake to work in an environmentally responsible way, in our daily Outshine office operations, pre-arrival and on-site at the 2024 NZ Conference.

Pre-arrival

Getting to Wellington – we encourage all delegates, wherever possible, to carpool, use public transport or offset their carbon footprint when travelling to Wellington via the organisation Trees That Count. Further details will be available during the registration process.

We ask that delegates think carefully regarding their use of hotel resources; do not request daily refreshing of accommodation towels and linen by the hotel housekeeping service, and refrain from using hotel supplied single use toiletry items.

On-site

We will actively reduce the production of on-site printed material (i.e. handbooks, printed programs, social function tickets) where possible, and delegates will be encouraged to use digital resources (app and website) for conference information.

We will seek to have a zero, or close to zero, use of on-site single use consumables (i.e., coffee cups, delegate satchels).

All delegates are encouraged to bring their own water bottles and coffee keep-cups.

Where single use consumables are the only option, then they will either be recycled or composted in the correct manner at the venue.

Delegate name badges will be printed on recyclable paper, and recycling stations offered at the conclusion of the conference where delegates can return their lanyards to be reused at future conferences and recycle their paper name badges.

There will be correct recycling stations and methods in place and easily accessible for delegates to use at the conference venue.

There will be consultation with all venues as to their food waste policy to ensure an environmentally sound disposal method; this may include the composting of food waste, and/ or leftovers being donated to a local charity.

Conference food choices and menus are to be locally and seasonally sourced to reduce the carbon footprint from freight transportation.

All delegates will be offered the option to offset their travel carbon footprint during the registration process, and when on-site, via the organisation Trees That Count.

Information will be available via the conference website on local eco-friendly groups for delegates to support, by donating time or funds to the organisations of their choice.

We will work with the principles of the Tiaki promise in all conference promotion and destination information.

There will be the acknowledgement of delegate diversity, not limited to but including gender, religious, cultural, physical and social factors that may affect a delegate’s ability to participate successfully in a conference. By recognition of this diversity, we seek to enhance all delegates’ conference experience and deliver the best possible outcome for all.

We are actively promoting a zero or near zero waste policy within our exhibition pack in and pack out. Exhibitors will be advised that all packaging will need to be reused when packing out, or a recyclable material (i.e., cardboard) used. There should be no use of single use items (i.e., plastic packaging on a pen) by an exhibitor and we would like to actively discourage the use of single item giveaways by the exhibitors.

All speaker gifts will be purchased locally and will reflect the ideals within this environmental strategy statement.