Pharmacology 2025

At the British Pharmacological Society, we know that running large-scale conferences has an impact on the environment. That’s why we are taking steps towards reducing our impact on the planet.

For the first time in 2024, we measured the carbon footprint of the event, using a comprehensive tool called TRACE by Isla. Gaining an insight into the carbon footprint of our event has helped us to identify areas for reduction in the future. We will be measuring our carbon emissions again in 2025 by working with our venues and suppliers to measure the emissions we create from venue energy, travel and transport, event catering, and waste. You might have noticed in your registration form that we asked you how many miles you were travelling to attend the event and what mode of transport you were using. We’ll use all this data to form an accurate measurement of the total carbon emissions from our event

Guided by our findings, we are continuing to look at ways to reduce the impact of our event on the planet and have set up a Working Group specifically to evaluate and provide recommendations on changes we can make to the way we run our Annual Meeting.

Here are some areas where we are trying to reduce the impact of Pharmacology 2025 on the environment:

We choose suppliers and venues with clear sustainability objectives and this forms part of our criteria when selecting who we will work with.

Our event lanyards are all made with recycled plastic and our badges are plastic-free. We invite people to return their lanyards to us at the end of the event, so that we can re-use these in the future.

To reduce printing, our detailed event programme will be available on our website and mobile app only.

Our exhibition supplier works with a graphic recycling scheme to reduce exhibition waste. All the graphics on the BPS stand this year have been recycled from our 2024 event.

Speakers and staff will be encouraged to travel to the conference by public transport, wherever this is feasible. See information on travelling to and around Belfast.

This year, we have introduced a ‘minibus bursary’, to help universities to bring groups of students/staff to the event without needing to fly.

Our event catering will be free from beef and lamb, with plenty of vegetarian and plant-based options available. Catering is one of the most significant sources of carbon emissions from any event. We plan to have one completely meat-free day at the conference, to reduce our emissions in this area.

ICC Belfast is proud to partner with The People’s Kitchen Belfast as part of their commitment to reducing food waste and supporting those in need across the city. As part of their sustainable practices, any suitable leftover food from our event will be carefully packaged & delivered to benefit individuals served by The People’s Kitchen.

ICC Belfast and Visit Belfast

ICC Belfast is proud to be the first conference venue on the Island of Ireland to earn the Green Meetings Gold certification through Green Tourism. This achievement highlights their commitment to sustainability and their active role in developing a sustainable tourism plan aligned with Belfast’s Resilience Strategy. Their efforts are further supported by a city-wide Green Tourism initiative, funded by Belfast City Council and implemented by Visit Belfast.

The award further enhances Belfast’s burgeoning reputation as one of the most sustainable destinations in the world – having reached ninth in the 2024 Global Destinations Sustainability Index. The city is the island of Ireland’s most sustainable tourism destination with seventy five percent of the city region’s 4,800 hotel rooms now officially accredited by Green Tourism.

Find out more about sustainability at ICC Belfast.

Find out more about sustainability at Visit Belfast.

We know that there is more we can do to reduce the impact of our activities on the planet. If you have ideas or feedback, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us at meetings@bps.ac.uk and we would be happy to have to have a chat!

We are looking for a sponsor to help us offset our carbon emissions from Pharmacology 2025. If your organisation is interested in supporting our sustainability goals, please visit our Partner with us page and contact us Abdul.Hayee@bps.ac.uk for more information.

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