Carbon Neutrality Task Force

SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS

The Carbon Neutrality Task Force (CNTF) was commissioned in 2020, just prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19, to explore ways the Society could curtail or eliminate our carbon footprint. The ensuing pandemic took care of that problem in the short term by suspending our in-person meetings. Now that we are back meeting in person, the Governing Board (GB) and the CNTF continue to search for ways to reduce the greenhouse gas footprint associated with air travel to and from our annual meetings and other aspects of the meeting arrangements that may be improved. Below is an update summarizing our actions to date and our plans for the year 2024. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions, just as we welcome your help if you are willing and able to pitch in.

Progress to date:

• Fall 2020: Following the Society’s first virtual annual meeting in November, the CNTF assists in designing a survey to sample members reactions to Zoom-based meetings.
• Summer 2021: CNTF members meet with Mitch Prinstein and Howard Kurtzman at APA to coordinate planning between our two organizations.
• Fall 2021: The CNTF and Lou Shomette begin making calculations of how much it would cost to purchase sufficient carbon offsets to compensate for the total carbon footprint generated by members’ air travel to and from our annual meeting. The CNTF also considers how PS would pay for these offsets, either through its own resources or as a passthrough to members’ registration fees. The CNTF also made recommendations regarding choosing eco-friendly venues and vendors for future meetings in addition to recommending public transit options in the host city and the like.
• Winter 2022: The CNTF explored more deeply the options for purchasing carbon offsets, amid growing concerns internationally that these offsets were not effective and in some cases were fraudulent. In light of this, the CNTF recommended to the PS Finance Committee an exploration into ESG investing (environmental, social, and governance-conscious investment of the Society’s investment portfolio, where PS would essentially divest from companies dealing in fossil fuels).
• Summer 2022: It becomes clearer that ESG too is highly problematic. There appears to be no easy way to split off “E” investments in ESG from the S and the G investments, unfortunately, and the view is widely shared that PS has no special stake in those latter components. The CNTF, GB members, and others think more about holding our annual meetings in alternate years only, or in virtual form every other year.
• Fall 2022: The GB’s newly formed strategic planning committee resolved to commit to annual in-person-only meetings. This decision was apparently made considering both the survey results from attendees at virtual meetings and financial factors. On the upside, this decision enables our members to choose Psychonomics as their favorite destination to take their latest research but this commitment will complicate any goal of reaching carbon neutrality soon. As of this time, PS continues to assess ways to reach carbon neutrality though any specific date by which to reach this goal is not yet set.
• Fall 2023: The GB agrees to the Society’s hosting a symposium at the November 2024 annual meeting devoted to climate change and carbon neutrality. The CNTF is tasked with organizing the symposium.

Plans for 2024 and beyond:

For 2024, the CNTF plans to continue monitoring the situation with carbon offsets and will continue to assist in calculating the total GHG carbon footprint arising from members’ air travel to PS’s annual meeting. We will likewise continue to monitor the status of ESG investing with an eye toward finding good E-only options. We will assist the GB and PS staff in organizing the scientific symposium on climate change planned for the November 2024 annual meeting in NYC. If the CNTF continues into 2025 and beyond, new goals are likely to arise.

Regarding the envisioned November symposium on climate change, we encourage you and your colleagues to forward to the CNTF any suggestions for how this event might best be structured to be of value to attendees.

In addition, the Psychonomic Society looks forward to advice and guidance from our membership as we attempt to navigate through the important but often conflicting goals. These include facilitating face-to-face meetings between colleagues through in-person meetings while also preserving our environment by curtailing our contributions to greenhouse gases. Given these tensions, what actions should our Society take now?

Feel free to get in touch with suggestions using the link at the top of this page.

James Pomerantz and Suparna Rajaram
Co-Chairs, Carbon Neutrality Task Force
5 February 2024

Additional information:

PS Greening & Sustainability
NY Marriott Marquis Greening Initiatives