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Net zero update for 2024
- Stephanie McCammon IETF Secretariat Director of Meeting Operations and Sponsorships
- Greg Wood IETF LLC Senior Director of Communications and Operations
28 Jan 2025
As we move into 2025, we wanted to provide an update on the IETF’s carbon footprint in 2024, and our ongoing work to increase the sustainability of how the IETF operates.
2024 Summary
For the second year we are able to calculate the carbon footprint of the IETF for all of 2024. To do this we have used the calculator developed and delivered in 2022. Just as we did for 2023, we’ve calculated CO2 footprint calculations for each of the IETF plenary meetings in 2024, as well as the ongoing operations that support the work of the IETF community. These calculations again relied on data already collected around IETF meetings, and take a conservative approach, which aims to fully capture emissions.
In addition to meetings, the total calculated carbon footprint calculations include the ongoing operations by the IETF Administration LLC and the IETF Secretariat, as well as RFC Production Center staff.
| Activity | Calculated tCO2e* |
|---|---|
IETF 119 Brisbane |
5025 |
IETF 120 Vancouver |
1829 |
IETF 121 Dublin |
2282 |
Operations |
70 |
TOTAL |
9196 |
* tCO2e = tonnes (t) of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent (e)
A full set of graphs for each meeting is provided below.
Offsetting is an ongoing consideration. At this point we are still monitoring developments in the voluntary offset market as it continues to evolve. We are not yet considering options for offsetting. We expect to take stock at the end of 2025 and will restart community consultations if there is promise of options that match initial community input and guidance gathered in 2022.
In 2024, food waste reduction was a primary goal, and by using data collected in 2023 we tailored food orders for certain events to drastically reduce waste. We encouraged attendees to bring reusable water bottles and provided hydration stations throughout the venues. These initiatives are ongoing and we expect 2025 to bring greater efficiency and waste reduction to IETF meetings as a whole.
Finally, we are moving to more sustainable materials for all meeting supplies. Every meeting in 2024, used completely biodegradable badges and combined the IETF Hackathon and meeting badges to reduce use of materials and subsequent waste. In addition to eliminating the use of plastic in meeting badges at IETF 120, we also completely eliminated single use plastics for attendee coffee breaks. IETF 120 was the first meeting to only use entirely non-plastic and recyclable materials for everything from badges to signage.
2025 Plans
Going forward, we will continue to calculate the IETF’s carbon for 2025 using our existing methods. Building on efforts at meetings in 2024, we will continue to reduce the materials used for and waste around providing food and beverages. In addition, we will explore new approaches for providing other meeting material that reduce the amount of material used for meetings, as well as shipping required to provide them onsite.
We are particularly grateful for the support IETF Sustainability sponsors, such as IETF 119 Gold Sponsor Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, and Bronze Sponsor NTT, provide for this work. If you or your organization would also like to support efforts to make how the IETF works more sustainable, please contact Stephanie McCammon of the IETF sponsorship team.
If you are interested in learning more and participating in the conversation, please subscribe and contribute to the admin-discuss@ietf.org mailing list.
2024 IETF meeting carbon footprint calculations
The graphs below were generated using the IETF Emissions Calculator developed as part of a project to develop a path towards net zero for the IETF. A full report describes the work undertaken to develop the calculator and a possible offset strategy.
