Sustainability Statement
Sustainability will be at the core of the AI Safety Summit. UK Government are committed to achieve the internationally recognised ISO20121 event sustainability certification, which will address all aspects of sustainability of the event such as waste management, supply chain management and carbon management to be carbon neutral.
Through key measures including certification to the International Standard for Sustainable Events (ISO20121) and our comprehensive Carbon Management Plan we will demonstrate leadership within the field of sustainable event management relating to environmental, social and economic performance through the lifecycle of the AI Safety Summit.
Making the AI Safety Summit a sustainable event
For an event to be considered sustainable, it must take into consideration environmental, social and economic factors and show how it is addressing each of them.
Our approach is guided by our AI Safety Summit Sustainability Governing Principles:
- Actively manage potential impacts on the environment and local community and identify opportunities to deliver environmental and social value
- Provide an accessible and inclusive setting for all
- Encourage healthy living
- Ensure a safe and secure atmosphere
- Encourage more sustainable behaviour
- Promote the use of responsible sources and responsible use of resources throughout the supply chain
- Leave a positive legacy
We are collaborating closely with our delivery partners, suppliers and interested parties to enable innovation and amplify our contribution, with the aim of delivering positive legacy impacts beyond the summit for Bletchley Park and wider community.
How are we making the AI Safety Summit more sustainable?
Some examples of how we are making AI Safety Summit a more sustainable event include:
- Encouraging delegates to use active travel such as walking and cycling or public transport where possible.
- Prioritising low carbon alternative energy sources such as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) in temporary generators instead of diesel.
- Catering that prioritises locally sourced and in season food items to minimise mileage for transportation and supports local business
- Prioritised sustainability by including explicit requirements in our supplier procurements and with partners
- Avoidance of waste to landfill by reusing and recycling material and building these considerations into design and material choices.
Carbon Neutrality
The AI Safety Summit will be a carbon neutral event and we will achieve validation using PAS2060 international standard on carbon neutrality. The key priority through the application of our Carbon Management Plan is to reduce and avoid emissions.
All carbon accounting is being carried out in line with the GHG Protocol and other sources of best practice guidance and will be published once the event has been delivered.
Carbon Offsetting
The unavoidable carbon emissions from the AI Safety Summit will be offset through the purchase of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).
We will ensure that all offsets are:
- Of the highest possible standard, ideally Gold Standard certified
- Have Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) co-benefits
- Represent a global spread of projects including developing countries and UK based projects
- Represent a range of offsetting project types
Through a robust Carbon Management Plan, any unavoidable carbon emissions for the summit will be offset. We are working to achieve PAS2060 Carbon Neutrality validation for the summit to transparently validate our approach and types of offset utilised.
