Environmental Impact of Traveling to the Annual American Pediatric Surgical Association Meeting

Purpose: Research has demonstrated negative environmental impacts from in-person conferences. Nonetheless, there are benefits to in-person meetings. The 2023 American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) meeting was mostly attended in-person. To understand the environmental impact, this study quantifies the travel emissions generated from that meeting. Methods: The 2023 APSA meeting was held in Orlando, FL. Using a de-identified list of attendees, the distance between the attendee's home city and Orlando was determined. If ≤ 200 miles, it was assumed the attendee drove. If > 200 miles, the distance between the closest airport and Orlando International Airport was determined. Travel emissions factors represent emissions per person-mile traveled. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Greenhouse Gas Inventory emissions factors for carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O) were multiplied by travel distances to determine the emissions generated from each attendee. These were aggregated to determine the total meeting travel emissions. The EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator was used to convert the emissions to a relatable outcome. Results: There were 757 in-person and 135 virtual attendees. Fifty attendees drove and 707 attendees flew. This generated 267,279 kg CO₂, 1222 gm CH₄, and 8486 gm N₂O; equivalent to the emissions generated from the average annual use of 60 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles in the United States. Conclusion: Based on attendance to the 2023 APSA meeting, there is a preference for meeting in-person, though the associated environmental cost should be recognized. Based on these results, APSA should consider strategies to mitigate the environmental impact of its annual meeting. Levels of Evidence: N/A.