Page - 28 - in options, Volume summer 2019

IIASA corner Written by: Bettina Greenwell Environment Committee empowers staff to act on sustainability In 2018, the IIASA Staff Social and Cultural Association (SOCU) formed an internal Environmental Committee that focuses on nurturing more environmentally friendly processes and activities at the institute. This includes improving existing waste management and recycling practices, and proposing stricter sustainable procurement and travel policies. So-called Sustainability Champions – representatives of each program and department at IIASA promoting these practices and policies – engage with their colleagues to monitor and implement new green initiatives. IIASA has now joined Austria’s largest climate protection network (“Klimabündnis Österreich”) and it is the committee’s aim to make the institute an even more sustainable and environmentally friendly workplace. Green guidelines for IIASA staff events The committee has developed Green Event Guidelines to provide an overview of sustainability criteria to be considered when organizing IIASA staff events. “Recently purchased reusable tableware for IIASA staff events will help save IIASA approximately 1,000 disposable, single-use cups, plates, and cutlery sets per year,” explains Environmental Committee member and IIASA Risk and Resilience Program researcher Thomas Schinko. “Our first experiences and feedback from staff at internal events have been very encouraging.” 2019 Print-less-athon: Think before you print! Another green initiative organized by the Environmental Committee, is the 2019 Print-less-athon. “This year, we’re running an internal campaign across the institute to further reduce our printing. The campaign will run throughout 2019, and each month we’ll release the printing statistics from all internal printers,” says fellow committee member and IIASA Energy Program researcher Ed Byers. The initiative encourages all staff members to reassess their printing methods and improve them. “Since January 2019, we have been able to reduce monthly printouts by 35% compared to 2018. The aim is to cut our printing in half by the end of 2019, and we’re definitely going in the right direction.” IIASA RESEARCHERS AMONG MOST CITED ENERGY RESEARCHER APPOINTED TO UN CLIMATE ACTION ADVISORY ROLE BEST PAPER AWARD FOR IIASA DEMOGRAPHERS Several IIASA researchers from the Air Quality and Greenhouse Gases, Energy, Ecosystems Services and Management, and Water Programs are among the top 1% of most highly cited scientists according to a list published by Clarivate Analytics, a former division of Thomson Reuters. The list recognizes world-class researchers based on their work published between 2006 and 2016. www.iiasa.ac.at/awards/highly-cited-18 Joeri Rogelj has been appointed as a member of the Climate Science Advisory Group to the UN Secretary-General’s 2019 Climate Action Summit. The group comprises international climate scientists who are highly recognized and respected in their field. Rogelj was appointed for his world-leading expertise in climate change mitigation and low-carbon scenarios. www.iiasa.ac.at/awards/Rogelj-19 World Population Program Director Wolfgang Lutz and researcher Jesus Crespo Cuaresma were awarded the 2018 Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) City of Vienna Best Paper Award for their scientific contribution in 2017. Cuaresma received the award for his article on economic development and forest cover, and Lutz for his paper on global sustainable development priorities 500 years after Luther. www.iiasa.ac.at/awards/WU-paper-18 INSTITUTE NEWS www.iiasa.ac.at28 Options Summer 2019