The 29th Kerala Science Congress beginning at Mar Thoma College, Thiruvalla, on January 28 will feature a carbon audit to measure the environmental footprint of the three-day event.
The Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) has made arrangements to carry out the audit, the first of its kind in the State.
The auditing is based on the travel, food, venue usage, paper use, electricity and water consumption, and their recycle.
The organising committees will distribute questionnaires to the participants to collect data on each parameter and estimate the resource consumption that is converted into carbon emission.
Methodology
The method is based on the model developed by the Australian Environmental Protection Agency, said S. Sankar, former scientist, Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), who heads the carbon auditing exercise.
The tree cover of the venue and its surroundings will be estimated using remote sensing satellite data in a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. “The data will give us an estimate of the amount of carbon emission during the science congress and the potential of the tree cover in Thiruvalla to absorb the emitted carbon,” said S. Pradeep Kumar, member secretary, KSCSTE.
“This year’s carbon audit will help us make the annual science congress more eco-friendly with reduced carbon emissions,” he said. As many as 400 saplings will be planted in and around Thiruvalla to increase the absorption of carbon emissions during the event.
Green protocol
The KSCSTE has also joined hands with Haritha Keralam to ensure that the Kerala Science Congress strictly adheres to the green protocol. Participants have been instructed to avoid bringing plastic bottles and containers to the venue and the food counters will use porcelain plates and steel and glass tumblers instead of paper cups and styrofoam plates.
Mr. Kumar said the KSCSTE hoped to come up with a carbon auditing model that could be replicated at other events drawing big crowds. “We expect to provide a consultancy service for organisers of such events,” he said.
