HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS British Journal of Psychiatry Advances in Psychiatric Treatment All RCPsych Journals		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bloor, R. Articles by Lovett, J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Bloor, R. Articles by Lovett, J.

CPD miles - how large is the College’s carbon footprint?

Keele University Medical School, Harplands Hospital, Hillton Road, Stoke on Trent ST4 6TH, e-mail: pca01{at}keele.ac.uk

Jonathan Lovett, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust

We note that the College’s Calendar of Forthcoming Events lists 23 meetings that are to be held between November 2005 and October 2006. Of these 23 meetings, 2 are to be held outside the UK. The use of European venues for College meetings may well be cost-effective compared with the costs of UK venues, but these meetings will involve College members in short-haul flights which will impact on the global environment.

The concept of ‘food miles’ has become familiar since the publication of the Food Miles Report (Paxman, 1994) which highlighted the environmental effects of the rapid increase in distance which our food travels from producer to consumer. As individuals we are also now encouraged to measure our ‘carbon footprint’ as an indicator of our impact on the environment in terms of the volume of green house gases produced (http://www.carbonfootprint.com).

As a responsible organisation perhaps our College should take a lead in measuring its corporate carbon footprint. As a first step the College could adopt a ‘CPD miles’ labelling policy for its meetings. This would encourage meeting organisers to stop and think about whether their choice of venue is contributing to the damage that our generation is inflicting on the planet.

References

PAXMAN, A. (1994) The Food Miles Report: The Dangers of Long Distance Food Transport. London: SAFE Alliance.

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bloor, R. Articles by Lovett, J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Bloor, R. Articles by Lovett, J.