To clarify, the topic was "planning a conference for next year, we could ask or require participants to factor in payments for carbon offset"
This has nothing to do with how green WMF operations might be. It has to do with the greener choices /we/ as volunteers can make for /our/ conferences.
Thanks, Fae
On Fri, 11 Oct 2019 at 14:33, Gerard Meijssen gerard.meijssen@gmail.com wrote:
Hoi, When the WMF wants to "green" itself, the most effective way is to make its software and operations greener. The software will reduce the need for energy, the operations ensure that green energy is used. Reducing the need for energy is an investment that will reduce the overall cost and has an effect not only in the datacentres of the WMF but also in the transport of data all over the world. It is only an investment in the time of engineers, there are no other downsides.
In addition you may consider our travels because we want to be green. The biggest problem is that as an organisation that NEEDS to bring our community together, such an aim is like digging a hole we are bound to be unable to climb out of. Thanks, GerardM
On Fri, 11 Oct 2019 at 13:16, Fæ faewik@gmail.com wrote:
In the discussion about the report from the WMF relating to sustainability, mention was made of the potential use of carbon offset. As part of planning a conference for next year, we could ask or require participants to factor in payments for carbon offset. With no experience in examining carbon offset projects, we are cautious about making any policy to do this, in particular it would be a bad blunder if we start paying in to a carbon offset project that turns out to be a bad or controversial choice later on.
Has the WMF or Affiliates made any prior choices for carbon offset projects, or could the community work out which of the many projects might be the most ethically responsible and well governed to choose from?
An a bonus to tack on, we have used phrases like ''encouraging greener travel options'', which one might interpret as doing things like preferring train travel rather than using flights within the same country. However if, say, a participant can fly within the country at half the cost and get to an event in a couple of hours rather than spending several times longer travelling, is it a reasonable/ethical approach to just fly for convenience and buy some carbon offset "points" (and so flying may well still be significantly cheaper than going by train).
Thanks, Fae -- faewik@gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae
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