Ozwater Sustainability Statement

AWA organises and manages the Ozwater Conference and Exhibition series as the one major event that brings practitioners, products, services and technology from the broader water sector together. The focus for the Ozwater series is to encourage networks and transfer knowledge on emergent best practice, latest research and trends plus leading and innovative technologies.

AWA is committed to sustainability and acknowledges that true sustainability brings together economic, social and environmental impacts. AWA also acknowledges that for an event of this size, whilst the economic and social impacts are positive, there are also environmental impacts. With this in mind, the Ozwater Sustainability Statement focuses mainly on reducing the environmental impacts of the event.

Location and Venue Selection
As a national membership organisation AWA is committed to taking the Ozwater Conference and Exhibition to locations and venues around Australia. In many cases venue choice is limited as only the larger conference and exhibition centres have the capacity for an event the size of Ozwater, but thankfully, most of these venues are also taking sustainability seriously.

AWA, in collaboration with the chosen Conference and Exhibition Venue, will:

• Use water jugs / reusable containers rather than bottled water.
• Ensure prominent placement of recycling bins (comingled and landfill at a minimum).
• Provide condiments in bulk instead of individually packaged.
• Reduce lighting and power (including turning off all lighting, appliances etc overnight in exhibition).
• Use reusable, washable cutlery, dishware, linens and decorations. Where this is not possible have items composted where practical.
• Serve food items with less or minimal packaging.
• Source seafood from sustainable supplies, and focus on locally sourced and in season food products where possible.

AWA in relation to Program Focus and Development will:

• Limit the number of committee meetings that involve travel.
• Place a limit on international keynotes and therefore long haul air travel.
• Provide poster papers as an online searchable document available on computers in the exhibition hall making it easier for registrants to find what they are interested in and eliminating the need to have each individual poster printed and laminated.
• Allow abstracts and papers to be submitted online only using specialised event software which tracks reviewers’ comments and enables e-mails directly back to the author, therefore reducing the reliance on paper.
• Hold as many AWA related meetings and networking sessions, as is practical, over the conference days to reduce the overall yearly travel costs and related emissions.

AWA in relation to Conference and Exhibition Management will:

• Reuse name badge holders and lanyards, where practical.
• Purchase satchels with environmental credentials in mind.
• Encourage exhibitors to design sustainable displays with minimal waste.
• Reuse or recycle signage and use existing or minimalist electronic signage where possible.
• Use electronic distribution of information and documentation where possible.
• When printing, limit print runs to absolute minimum requirements, use recycled paper (minimum 50% recycled content) and use water, organic or vegetable based inks.

AWA in relation to Participant Sustainability Initiatives will:

• Promote the use of public transport.
• Actively encourage recycling whilst participants are onsite.
• Choose hotels / accommodation that are close to the venue.
• Choose hotels that have proven sustainability credentials and policies.

The AWA National Office supports these site based sustainability initiatives by doing the following:

• Purchasing 100% recycled paper with all printers default to double sided printing (where possible).
• Offers comingled, paper, cardboard and battery recycling initiatives plus recycles toner and ink cartridges.
• Collects and disposes of e-waste appropriately.
• Has recently undertaken an energy audit and carbon footprint analysis.
• Office is located at public transport hub.
• Majority of internal processes can now be done online, moving towards a ‘paperless’ office.