Startup Weekend Málaga: Measuring sustainability for a carbon-neutral Startup Weekend event

Many awesome things happen during any Startup Weekend event: innovative ideas, team creation, products building, wonderful pitches, fantastic experience, etc. It is a really good lab to test many ideas. The latest and pioneering idea in the world related to Startup Weekend events happened last december in Málaga, Spain where Startup Commons participated as a sponsor at Startup Weekend Málaga 2014 in which Sostenibilidad a Medida measured how sustainable was the startup weekend event in order to compensate and transform it to be a carbon-neutral event.

Here you are a really thorough description from Juanjo Amate, founder of Sostenibilidad a Medida, in which he explains the whole process and next actions for the future:

"Shortly we can bring about what a Startup Weekend, beyond the opinions of our director, Juanjo Amate, who participated as a mentor to sustainability and social impact on the 2013 edition of SW Málaga and that surely will be endorsed by any I have participated as organizer, mentor or participant in one of these events are held weekly throughout the world.

Definitely startups are revolutionizing the world economy and their role of sustainability will be crucial to reach a green economy model, circular or sustainable truly transformational. Hence in Sostenibilidad a Medida are betting on developing tools that help startups to incorporate sustainability into their processes from the beginning, what we call Sustainability for Startups.

Hence, when we met the possibility of collaborating in this edition 2014 SW Málaga, held at the Centre for Social Innovation La Noria of the Diputacion of Malaga, contributing not only for the role of sustainability in projects, but the whole event in his overall, since Sostenibilidad a Medida put a wide range of initiatives, already in the 2013 edition sustainability was very present. An example is this picture:

We start from several assumptions about how to bring sustainability to SW Málaga 2014:

There are already examples of SW focusing on themes of sustainability (as well as events like GreenWeekend in Spain) but not SW taking steps examples of social and environmental responsibility on its conclusion.

In Liege, this 2014 held a thematic SW Greentech that has measured and offset CO2 emissions through the purchase of trees, one for each participating team, but without going into a measurement of the emissions. In Brasilia 2013 SW project addressed a participant compensation actions, and SW Brasilia was his first customer.

Arose also had to shop participatory data collection, involving teams and mentors to understand the impact generated and the importance of mitigation / compensation for the carbon footprint. The proximity to the time of raising the compensation actions, and direct participation of Málaga SW community, was a priority factor.

Therefore, we decided together to organize SW Malaga work towards it to be a carbon-neutral event, but also make it so that the participants were aware of the impact in the form of CO2 generated and the importance of its minimization and implement compensation measures, which have been designed in collaboration with the Malaga company Landalus, which will be held in the nearest holding SW Málaga environment.

Methodology to be applied to calculate the carbon footprint in Málaga SW 2014

Drawing on different scopes, when performing the calculation of the carbon footprint for an an event, we have included:

Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions. For example, emissions from combustion in boilers, furnaces, vehicles, etc., which are controlled by SW Malaga or personnel involved (including here the choice of means of transport to reach SW Málaga)

Where will calculate based on the source and means of transport of participants / mentors / members of the jury.

Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions associated with the generation of purchased and consumed by the organization electricity.

To be calculated based on an inventory of equipment used and hours of use during SW, either by each team, either by the organization, including here hardware teams in Málaga SW tasks such as lighting of working spaces.

From here you have created data collection sheets for participants to go noting the necessary information.

And from this information, calculate the amount of CO2 equivalent generated, come to join:

The activity data is the parameter that measures the level of activity generating GHG emissions. For example, number of kilometers traveled by car.

The emission factor (EF) represents the amount of GHG emitted per unit of parameter "activity data". Emissions of CO2 equivalent per 100 km traveled.

Gathering information about the carbon footprint of SW Málaga

During the 54 hours of holding SW Málaga we have been collecting the information needed to calculate their carbon footprint, ie, both the electricity consumption of lighting workrooms and hardware used, and the displacement data for coming to La Noria.

In addition to multiple queries (thanks to all for your kindness to assist us) we ask each team to help us in a recording sheets prepared for that equipment used and hours of use. We wanted to ask them, but above all, they felt participate in the sustainability of this event.

Viewing images of the working rooms, it was clear that the energy consumed primarily in computer equipment, and is eventually in electricity consumption by computers has influenced most important way the number of teams that have been using the fact that a team spend more or less time working.

Be aware of the lights remained on in the different rooms, hours spent working teams was part of our work there this weekend, although like all Startup Weekend, especially has been a huge learning about the challenges of putting successfully launched a project from an idea. Revealed another mystery, what you were doing so rare these questions and wanted to know the number of hours spended working or equipment used at all times.

Carbon Footprint Málaga Startup Weekend 2014

It only remains to show, but before, it may interest you to access data even provide any additional or correct something that was registered wrongly, all data collected are sorted in this table used to calculate the carbon footprint, and as you can see:

• The carbon footprint from consumption of electricity both in lighting working rooms as in used equipment amounted to 89'59 kilograms of CO2 equivalent.
  
  
• The carbon footprint resulting from travels, which as you can see have posted a total of 6650 kms traveled by participants, although using different means of private or shared transport, resulting emissions of 847.8 kg of CO2 equivalent .
  

Therefore, the sum is 937.39 kg CO2 equivalent, that is the carbon footprint calculated following the methodology and the indicated limits for Startup Weekend Málaga 2014.

But not here, now, Landalus will design compensation measures, through reforestation of some of the areas burned in Málaga in recent years, selecting the type of vegetation and the number of feet that need add to over the years to set an amount of CO2 from the atmosphere similar to this Carbon Footprint.

On the other hand, in a Startup Weekend could not be otherwise, because we have emerged ideas to improve future editions or even to be covered in the next SW taking place in other cities, is that since in La Noria also offered accommodation, would have been important to energy consumption derived from this activities, especially related to the consumption of hot water, not for nothing, but precisely in Málaga is developing an initiative, Métrica6, which helps reduce both consumption of water and energy in that particular example.

Well, you know the end result, but as noted, this doesn't end here and we will continue around the compensation actions.

Beyond knowing, measure and compensate for the impact on sustainability of Startup Weekend Málaga, the important thing was to make the whole Startup Weekend community participant of this commitment and achieve through unconventional actions awareness, involve you with it and move the importance of combining economic and sustainability activity. We hope we have succeeded, once again thank you for your collaboration and especially the impact it has had and continues to have this initiative."

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This is an edited version of a post originally posted at http://www.sostenibilidadamedida.com/startup-weekend-malaga-neutro-en-co2/, by  Sostenibilidad a Medida. You are free to re-edit and repost this in your own blog or other use under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License terms, by giving credit with a link to www.startupcommons.org and the original post.