Green policy

Each year, we limit the amount of printed materials. We don’t print the agenda and the catalogue. Both are available online. We print a brochure presenting the projects, in a limited number of copies, only for our experts. The brochures are printed on recycled paper.

We limit the printed design elements in our venues to the minimum to avoid waste. What’s more, the printed elements that we do use (signage, wayfinding, copyholders for 1:1 meetings) are reusable for future editions. We’ve completely resigned from using roll-up banners in venues, both ours and our partners’.

We sort waste according to the standard introduced by the Polish government.

Whenever possible, we use trains instead of planes. We always give our invited guests train options first to reduce CO2 emissions. Only if train connections are not available or if there are other important reasons why a guest cannot travel by train, we offer a plane connection.

While in Warsaw, we encourage our guests to use public transport or simply walk. Each year, we limit our usage of taxis and car transport to reduce vehicle pollution.

The food served during our events is only vegetarian or vegan to reduce the carbon footprint. To reduce food waste, we carefully check how much food is needed.

Together with catering providers, we find and use the most eco-friendly solution for food packaging or use glassware, if possible.

Before the event, we invite our participants to bring their water bottles with them. During the event, we either provide a drinking water filling station and glass carafes, or use glass bottles.

The hotels we’ve chosen are close to the main venue. This helps us limit the pollution caused by transportation. What’s more, our guests have an opportunity to see the city of Warsaw while walking to the venue.

We are cooperating with 2 hotels:

• ibis Styles Warszawa City – this hotel is a member of the Accor group, which has a strong focus on sustainability. They have clear goals and verified achievements in this field, confirmed by their Sustainability Strategy. As an example, by 2025, their goal is to eliminate remaining guest-facing single-use plastics in their hotels and further reduce carbon emissions by 25,2%, as part of their commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
• Motel One Warszawa-Chopin – the hotel has defined their sustainability measures in the ESG brochure. Motel One Group has been already awarded for their sustainable approach. Currently, it’s undergoing the certification process by Green Key (an independent eco-certification programme).

Our main venue is located in the city centre next to the train, bus, and tramway stations. Our participants can use public transport or go for a walk, as we encourage them to do.

In case there are some other locations, we always try to choose the ones that are accessible by foot from our hotels and the main venue.

We work with local small restaurants, such as Słuszna Strawa: a social cooperative created and run by people with migration experience.

If we make gadgets for our guests, we work with small companies which have a clear sustainability commitment, such as Kabak or Panato. Kabak works towards climate neutrality, regularly describing their journey in CSR reports. Panato is a social enterprise that creates jobs for people with disabilities. They also support people in need by giving them jobs.

During the selection process, our Selection Committee checks if the project addresses ecology, inclusion, and diversity topics in the application.

Each year, we try to include at least one pitched project whose theme is strictly connected with ecology and sustainability.