Toward a Lighter Footprint

In line with our effort to throw light on a better way forward together across species lines in the Anthropocene, we also seek to reduce our own CO2 output.

Transportation

Our biggest environmental footprint comes from global research travel. We have made every effort to keep the travel requirements for Sensory Acts as low as reasonably possible, conducting 90% of our network meetings online instead of in-person. All our remaining research-related flights have carbon offset fees figured into their budgets, thanks to the help of Canadian non-profit PlanetAir. Where possible, we try to keep things as close to home as we can.

Zoom Meetings

According to environmental technologist David Mytton, a team meeting with at least six speakers, using 1080p webcams over the course of one hour, will produce 0.05kg of CO2. If this happens weekly, and over a period of a year, they will put out some 2.68kg of CO2, the equivalent of 9.36 driven miles. We are able to calculate our Zoom emissions thanks to UK Utility Bidder. All our Zoom meetings are offset by CSA-certified carbon credit from Canadian power company Less.

Website

So much of our environmental footprint comes from electronic communications (i.e. the Internet), and from the infrastructures that uphold them. Data centres on which we all rely account for 2% of all carbon emissions world-wide, which parallels global air transportation. Hosting with GreenGeeks in Montreal, allows us to offset our carbon footprint three-fold through their collaboration with Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) in Portland, Oregon.