{"id":11598,"date":"2015-08-25T16:14:06","date_gmt":"2015-08-25T16:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cibjo.org\/new\/?p=11598"},"modified":"2017-12-07T11:56:40","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T11:56:40","slug":"25-august-2015-with-measurement-of-carbon-footprint-and-offsetting-carbon-credits-cibjo-congress-officially-becomes-jewellery-sectors-first-carbon-neutral-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cibjo.org\/rstoolkit\/25-august-2015-with-measurement-of-carbon-footprint-and-offsetting-carbon-credits-cibjo-congress-officially-becomes-jewellery-sectors-first-carbon-neutral-event\/","title":{"rendered":"With measurement of carbon footprint and offsetting carbon credits, CIBJO Congress officially becomes jewellery sector\u2019s first carbon-neutral event"},"content":{"rendered":"
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AUGUST 25, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the submission of a report that carefully details the carbon footprint of this year\u2019s CIBJO Congress, which took place in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, May 4-6, 2015, and the purchase by CIBJO of offsetting carbon credits, the annual gathering of the World Jewellery Confederation is to officially become the first-ever major event in the industry to qualify as carbon neutral.<\/p>\n

Carbon-Expert, an environmental consulting organisation that for two years has worked together with CIBJO to ensure that its daily operations are carbon neutral, submitted the completed carbon footprint report earlier this month. This is the first time that an industry event has been rendered carbon neutral, and the goal is that it will be used as a template for future events organized by CIBJO, and in general become a model that can be applied elsewhere in the jewellery sector.<\/p>\n

Complying with ISO 14064, which specifies how to quantify and report greenhouse gas\u00a0 (GHG) emissions and removals, and applying ISO 20121, which offers guidance and best practice for controlling the environmental impact of events, Carbon-Expert carefully measured the carbon footprint of the 2015 CIBJO Congress, accounting for carbon gas emission generated at the congress venue itself, and also by congress participants in their preparation and traveling to and from the event.<\/p>\n

In total, about 600 tons of greenhouse gas emissions were associated with the congress, and CIBJO will now purchase carbon credits in order to offset them, and so render the event carbon neutral.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy making this congress Carbon Neutral, CIBJO is sending a clear message to the industry that all events should wherever possible be carbon neutral, thus minimizing their environmental impact, in order to drive the industry forward and secure the long term future of everyone\u2019s business,\u201d wrote Moya McKeown, an environmental consultant at Carbon-Expert, in the report\u2019s introduction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe activities of CIBJO\u2019s Secretariat and administration were certified as carbon neutral both in 2013 and 2014, and we are now expanding the programme to include other activities,\u201d said CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri. \u201cObviously, our carbon footprint represents just a small percentage of that of the entire jewellery sector, but we hope that we serve as a role model for others, who like us are a committed to our industry operating in an environmentally responsible manner. The feedback so far has been most positive.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cCIBJO has worked towards achieving carbon neutrality for itself since 2013 and, having achieved that goal by the end of 2014, the next step was to focus on the congress,\u201d said Jonathan Kendall, President of CIBJO\u2019s Education and Marketing Commission, who has stood at the vanguard of the organisation\u2019s environmental\u00a0 campaign. \u201cNow we have achieved carbon neutrality for the Congress held in Brazil in May of this year, our next goal is to encourage and support our members and non-members in the industry to realise the importance of achieving a good environmental record.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA number of trade organisations and companies are now working with CIBJO to achieve their own carbon neutral status and we will continue to focus on developing this programme over the coming years,\u201d Mr Kendall added. \u201cIt is clear the ‘millennia consumer’ is highly aware of the environment, and as the jewellery industry is so dependent on continuing to attract new customers, the industry must meet this challenge head on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The complete carbon foot print report for the 2015 CIBJO Congress can be downloaded from the CIBJO website by CLICKING HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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