A Carbon-Neutral Workshop

A workshop about environmentally friendly technologies needs to add its share to environmental protection, as well. That is why ATMOsphere 2010 bears the CarbonNeutral event certification to

offset a total of 100 tonnes of CO2equivalents

arising from its design. Included in the emissions offset are all emissions from

• Hotel: direct emissions from stationary sources used to deliver the service; all indirect emissions from the consumption of electricity and steam used for the event,
• Waste disposal
• Accommodation of participants: 180 hotel nights
• Travel: all flight, car, train travel, taxis, public transport

ATMOsphere has partnered up with The CarbonNeutral Company to purchase carbon instruments to retire 100 tonnes of CO2equ at a price of GBP 15.00/CO2equ from the Aydin Geothermal Energy Project in Turkey.

This project uses geothermal energy to generate electricity at a 7.95 MW grid-connected, renewable power plant in the province of Aydin, Turkey. It has been verified under the Voluntary Carbon Standard. Geothermal liquid is stored beneath the ground and heated naturally by the Earth’s core to temperatures of between 78°C and 170°C. Four wells have been constructed at the project site which brings this liquid – comprised of brine and steam - to the surface. The hot liquid then passes through a heat exchange process where its temperature is used to vaporise a second fluid, creating steam, which drives a turbine and generates renewable energy. The  technology at this plant is a closed loop system called ‘organic rankine cycle and binary’ and is the first of its kind to be installed by a private company in Turkey. Being a closed loop system, there is no waste of resources; as the geothermal fluid cools, it is re-inserted into the ground and the secondary fluid condenses back into liquid form, which is re-used in the heat exchange process.

For more information, please see attached project fact sheet.

What else do we do?

Offsetting carbon emissions resulting from organising an event is an effective and easy way to reduce its climate impact. However, we want to go a step further to also work towards a zero-emissions event in the future:

• Carbon-Neutral website: ATMOsphere 2010 is certified with the CO2Stats logo to calculate the combined electricity used by computers visiting this site, the servers providing it, and the networks that connect them. CO2Stats then helps to make this site more energy efficient (and load faster), and purchases renewable energy to neutralize the carbon emissions due to generation of that electricity.

• Less paper: ATMOsphere 2010 will not provide you with many glossy conference brochures to take home and throw away later. We will limit the conference material to the minimum. Rather we will send you a link to all available presentations, brochures, and other useful information after the event.

• Greener materials: Wherever possible, we will use biodegradable and recycled materials for the conference folders, printed documents, badges etc.

• Greener sponsors: We will encourage all our sponsors to reduce the amount of paper to be distributed to participants, and will offset the emissions resulting from shipping banners and other material.

• Central location: The hotel is located at the heart of the EU area, one minute from the European Parliament and at a walking distance from the European Commission headquarters. The hotel is also next to the Schumann train station and other public transport options, and at fifteen minutes drive from the Brussels international airport.

What you already do!

This year, your participation fee for ATMOsphere 2010 includes a €20.00 contribution to make the workshop carbon-neutral. The remaining amount to offset a full 100 tonnes CO2equ will be added by the event organiser.

What you can also do

• Take the public transport: We would like to encourage you to use the public transport in Brussels after arriving by plane or train.

• Recycle your badge: How often you took your name badge home and then threw it away? Help us reuse your nametag holder by returning it after the conference. There will be a special box for that purpose.