UreCulture Archives - The Wellbeing Project

The Wellbeing Summit 2022 The Wellbeing Summit 2022

THE WELLBEING SUMMIT 2022, PLANTING THE SEED FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE EVENT

The Wellbeing Project believes in environmental awareness and social inclusion. Sustainability was one of the organisational key guiding principles for The Wellbeing Summit’s first edition in 2022. From the event design, inspired by supporting the circular economy model, to measuring and planning for the reduction of carbon emissions; every aspect of the Summit was designed with sustainability in mind.

We set two main objectives:

Implement strategic actions towards holding a responsible event.
Better understand our carbon impact by measuring the event footprint.

We also looked to include programmes and themes in the Summit that would create discourse and raise awareness of our planetary crisis. We were supported in achieving these objectives by our partner UreCulture who specialises in environmental sustainability planning for cultural agents and non-profit organisations.

With The Wellbeing Summit 2022 Sustainability Report we want to transparently share with you our journey and commitment towards sustainability.

Our first steps in 2022Our first steps in 2022

Strategic actions taken to reduce our environmental impact

Travel

As the primary source of emissions during an event, it is essential to be aware of the impact caused by traveling, to monitor it, and put in place preventive measures.

What we did:

Provide recommendations for responsible travel, including the invitation to delegates to make impactful donations in compensation for the carbon impact.
Offer Economy Class tickets to speakers, artists and grantee delegates.
A free hybrid option was also set up, with digital access through our event platform for participants wishing to follow the plenary sessions and have access to online exclusive content.

Materials

During any event, resources are widely used. Following the circular economy methodology, we tried to minimise resource consumption and waste wherever and whenever possible.

What we did:

Paper-free event.
Use of already existing buildings (no event tent/marquee).
All materials for the Welcome Pack were sourced locally (Spain and Portugal).
Yute tote bag instead of cotton tote bag.
No goodies, the only gift was a plantable pin with mint seeds.
All attendees’ badges were made of plantable seed paper and the badge holders of recycled cardboard.
No single use carpet.
All furniture was rented instead of bought and most was made from sustainable or recycled materials.
Stage of the Welcome Cocktail made from recycled wood pallets.
Staff t-shirts made from organic cotton and locally sourced.
No plastic bottles, but water fountains.

Food

The catering offered has an important environmental impact and it is crucial to opt for responsibly sourced food.

What we did:

All our caterers committed to using organic (or equivalent), local and seasonal products.
Vegetarian options were always available (low-carbon options).
Except for the Welcome Cocktail and the Lunch Box on the last day, all attendees were provided with lunch vouchers – to be used in local restaurants close to the main venue – in order to have a positive impact on the local economy and avoid waste systematically created by catered lunches.
The catering offered at specific smaller events was provided by a local association employing young people at risk of marginalisation.

City and venues

The selection of the appropriate hosting city and venues are key to reducing the impact.

What we did:

Selection of a small city and specific venues which were all at maximum 15 min. walking distance between them and, alternatively, reachable by public transportation.
A public bus at an affordable price ran every 30 min. from the airport to the city centre.
For transportation of attendees with specific accessibility requirements, artists and speakers pick ups and production staff, electric cars offered by one of our sponsors were used.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

The Wellbeing Project is deeply committed to inclusivity, therefore creating an event in which everyone would feel represented and included was key. We also believe that the ecological challenge is a global one and that it can only be tackled by a diverse, inclusive and united community.

What we did:

The Wellbeing Summit 2022 was a “by invitation only” event in order to carefully curate the invitee list and ensure diversity and inclusivity. An example: 83 different countries and 6 continents represented. Still, anyone could express their desire to participate through a self-nomination process and each candidate was taken into consideration and carefully evaluated before being invited.
Selection of speakers and artists to ensure diversity and inclusivity. An example: 54.2% female speakers; 60.2% female artists.
Sponsoring for delegates with diverse backgrounds: 53.4% of delegates had a subsidy of their ticket. This could range from a partial subsidy all the way to a free ticket to attend TWBS 2022. For 10.4% of delegates The Wellbeing Project covered the ticket, the flight and the accommodation.
Management of visas to ensure diversity: 151 visa requests were managed by The Wellbeing Project.
All venues were accessible for people with disabilities or impairments and a support team was available on demand to guarantee full accessibility to everyone. An example : 7 accessibility requests for the full duration of the event were promptly attended.
Yoga mats and pillows were redistributed to local associations working with homeless people.
The catering offer at specific smaller events was provided by a local association employing young people at risk of marginalisation.
A contact list of babysitting services available in the city was provided on TWBS 2022 website.

Measuring our footprint: Our 2022 carbon audit

Like any human activity, major events impact their environment and the planet. We are fully aware of this responsibility and understand the opportunity The Wellbeing Summit has to lead by example. It was crucial for the Wellbeing Summit to carry out an audit and measure the carbon impact of the event, as we can only change what we measure.

The Wellbeing Summit 2022 carbon audit and footprint will act as our baseline to track and measure improvements in our 2025 edition.

Raising awareness for our planetary crisis to help create change Raising awareness for our planetary crisis to help create change

We considered it fundamental to include environment-related content in the Conference and Arts Programmes in order to inspire, help raise awareness and create change.

What we did:

Examples of environment-related content in the Arts Programme:

Examples of environment-related content in the Conference Programme:

Satish Kumar, peace-pilgrim and environmentalist – Opening Plenary Session and morning meditation
Kumi Naidoo, human rights and environmental activist – Closing Plenary Session
Laureline Simon, founder and director, One Resilient Earth; Mallika Dutt, founder Inter-Connected, activist, social change leader; Carolin Schmee, partner at Manejo Ambiental; Clare Celeste, artist – Workshop “Our Relationship with Nature: How Climate Change Impacts Emotions”

The Wellbeing Summit 2022 Sustainability Report

Discover The Wellbeing Summit 2022 Sustainability Report, created in partnership with UreCulture and its team of environmental researchers and climate change consultants. With this report we have taken the first step in the fight against climate change: measuring carbon emissions.

The report outlines all the sustainability actions taken during the 2022 Summit and reviews the event’s carbon emissions. This is a significant step towards a more sustainable world and a great tool to identify areas of improvement with a commitment to continuously advancing.

Sustainability Report

Looking Towards The Wellbeing Summit 2025

In 2022 we planted the seed to align with best practice in sustainable and responsible events planning for The Wellbeing Summit 2025.

Some preliminary ideas include:

Study environmentally-friendly modes of transportation to travel to the Summit.
Deepen our knowledge on how to reduce waste and support a circular economy, in collaboration with our providers and partners.
Look for providers and partners who share our values and are taking concrete steps to reduce their environmental impact.
Research innovative solutions for inclusivity as, for example, access riders.

Over the next two years we will continue to research and look for innovative solutions to reduce our environmental impact, promote eco-friendly and socially inclusive practices and design a sustainable experience for our attendees and stakeholders.

The Wellbeing Summit for Social Change - Acting Responsibly for our Planet The Wellbeing Summit for Social Change - Acting Responsibly for our Planet

INTRODUCTION

Recommendations from our pro bono partner, UreCulture

At The Wellbeing Project, we understand the urgent need to preserve our natural environment to protect the health and wellbeing of current and future generations. We believe that the health and wellbeing of the planet is intrinsically connected to the health and well-being of all people, and that social and economic sustainable development will only succeed if environmental components achieve their stability such that communities around the world can experience a good quality of life.

We are committed to planting a seed to bring sustainability to the core of our objectives, and are beginning the process of embedding this into event planning together with the pro bono consultancy of one of our specialist partners, UreCulture. For our first edition we are carrying out an audit of our carbon and circularity footprint, which will help build our future sustainability plan. The results of the audit will be presented transparently after the Summit and donations in compensation for this impact will be carried out. Our sustainability plan will include a detailed sustainability footprint audit, including creative and innovative solutions to reduce our negative impact and a reporting process which involves carbon circularity and social footprints. Our ambition for TWBS24 is to align with best practice in sustainability from the outset of our planning.

HOW CAN YOU MINIMIZE YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT?

WHILST IN BILBAO

Intercity Travel

The venues for the conference are all close together, so most journeys should be possible by walking, for most participants. If you do need to use a vehicle at some point, please choose public transport rather than taxis where you can (although of course, we understand this will not be possible for everyone).

Your Hotel Stay

– One of the largest parts of a hotel’s carbon footprint is the daily washing of towels and linen. Ask your hotel for their policy on this, and whether they have the option to only wash things on request rather than washing everything every day by default. You can also leave the “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door when out to prevent unnecessary washing.

– Bring your own toiletries, and leave those mini bottles of soap and shampoo in the room! Hotels generate huge amounts of waste from single-use toiletries.

– Be sensible in your use of energy and water, like you would at home. It’s tempting to take extra-long showers, leave lights and appliances on etc. when we’re staying away from home, but the impact on the climate is still the same.

– Ask your hotel about their environmental policies and make it clear these issues are important to you as a guest.

DURING THE WELLBEING SUMMIT

Food and Drink

– Look for food options that are lower-carbon where possible – that means reducing meat and dairy, and seeking out less processed and more locally-produced food where possible.

– Avoid the use of single-use plastics and avoid buying plastic water bottles. 80 percent of plastic water bottles end up in landfills and it takes up to 1,000 years for every single bottle to decompose. Please bring your own water bottle and refill as necessary.

HOW CAN YOU HELP OUR PLANET?

Compensating for your Climate Impact

Rather than buying conventional “carbon offsets” (which can vary hugely in reliability and impact), donating to the programmes below will make a positive climate difference in a fast enough timeframe to help with the climate crisis. These won’t make your emissions disappear, but they will do something useful to help compensate for the climate impact of your flight.

In the non-profit industry a suggested benchmark for donations would be USD 70-USD 140 per tonne of CO2e. You can check the CO2e impact of your flight through this website.

1/ Cutting Fossil Fuel Use

ClientEarth is an environmental charity with a unique approach. They use existing environmental laws to challenge polluting projects – and win. In the last few years their actions have helped stop the construction of three huge coal plants in Poland and Germany and a giant gas plant in the UK, amongst a range of other victories. You can read more about ClientEarth here and donate here.

Solar Aid work to help communities in Africa ‘leapfrog’ over dirty energy and build a clean energy future. Their mission is to provide solar lighting to every home, school and clinic in Africa by 2030, replacing millions of polluting kerosene lamps and preventing the need for new fossil-fuelled power stations. They don’t simply hand out solar lights – they work with local partners to build knowledge, capacity and skills in communities with the aim of creating a long-term sustainable solar lighting market that can thrive without outside support. You can read more about SolarAid here and donate here.

2/ Defending and Preserving Forests:

Did you know… nearly all forests across the globe are inhabited? For nearly 30 years the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) have worked alongside Indigenous organisations and forest communities to advocate for their rights.

The FPP believes the smartest way to protect the world’s forests is by investing in the people who have managed them for millennia, and have a history of scoring crucial victories in defence of their lands. The FPP’s Forest Visions Partnership fund provides money directly to Indigenous groups and communities whose lands are under threat— to help secure their rights, protect their cultures, and defend their territories. Support the Forest Visions Partnership fund here. Please note, FPP can only accept donations from foundations or individuals.

3/ Supporting Regenerative Agriculture:

The AgroEcology Fund supports inspiring projects around the world that are changing the way we produce food. Industrial agriculture is a huge source of emissions – not just from fuel use and livestock, but nitrous emissions from fertilisers and massive amounts of carbon due to short-sighted soil management. Agroecology (combining traditional methods of farming with appropriate renewable technology) doesn’t just prevent emissions in the short term, it has the potential to pull huge amounts of carbon back into the soil in the longer term, while supporting local livelihoods and sustainably feeding the world. Read more about the Agroecology Fund here and donate here. Based partly on research by the Gallery Climate Coalition.

This list of programmes above is based partly on research by the Gallery Climate Coalition and Danny Chivers.

Create Conversations Around Our Planetary Crisis During the Summit:

Talk to people about the climate crisis and how it relates to the work being done at the summit. It’s probably the greatest threat to our collective wellbeing on this planet right now, including the huge mental and emotional toll it is taking on all of us. It can sometimes feel hard to raise as a topic but it’s vital that we do, otherwise we will not take the collective action needed to avert disaster. Look for ways to start a conversation about how we can all urgently reduce the carbon emissions from our work and practice, including ways to make The Wellbeing Summit for Social Change lower-carbon in the future.

ABOUT OUR FUTURE SUSTAINABILITY PLAN AND THESE RECOMMENDATIONS

The consultancy work relating to our future sustainability plan, the 2021 environmental audit and these recommendations have been developed by our pro bono partner UreCulture who work at the intersection of the arts and sustainability.

UreCulture’s goal is to support the cultural and non-profit industries align with sustainability best practice, whilst also maximizing the potential of the arts to catalyse change for a better future for the planet and its people. UreCulture works with Danny Chivers who is an environmental expert and carbon analyst.