PCO’s sustainability recommendations pay off for client, community, partners and our planet

In early November, 2022, Congrès Inc. (Headquarters: Tokyo) was the PCO for operation of the 67th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society for Reproductive Medicine. As part of Congrès’ ongoing efforts to ensure sustainable meeting operation and reduction of post-conference waste, the resource recycling poster printing service “Rakupos ECO” was introduced. This initiative was realized after the organizer agreed to Congrès’ proposal to utilize “Rakupos ECO” from the perspective of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and aligned with one of the company’s 4 materiality themes (priority issues or key challenges); “Support efforts to solve issues in society through creating fora for meetings & events.”

The theme of the 67th Annual Meeting was “Reproductive Medicine and Society.” This year’s Annual Meeting president, Prof. KUJI Naoaki, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tokyo Medical University said “I hope this meeting would become an opportunity to assist us to identify issues related to developments in cutting-edge medical and basic science and their connection to society, think about solutions, and strive toward creating a better future, together with fellow participants.”

Prof. KUJI Naoaki
President of the 67th Annual Meeting
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tokyo Medical University

Action for SDGs: Adopted “Rakupos ECO” resource recycling academic poster service

At medical association conferences, in addition to general lectures and symposia where speakers make presentations using slides or videos, “poster sessions” are conducted for speakers to present their latest research and/or clinical findings, using paper posters or digital displays. As the conventional style has been paper posters, there was always the issue that the paper used would become waste after a conference. As a solution strategy to tackle reduction of waste, Kinko’s Japan Co., Ltd. started a new poster printing service, “Rakupos ECO” that achieves resource recycling by using “LIMEX,” a new material made mainly from limestone, instead of paper for printing. After use, it is possible to recycle this sheet material utilizing the resource circulation coordination service “MaaR for Business,” also provided by TBM Co., Ltd.

Congrès proposed the services to the organizers of the 67th Annual Meeting as a sustainability measure, which was well received by the organizers, and then adopted and set up at the venue.

This solution proved to be win-win for all concerned. This meeting was the first time for Kinko’s Japan to actually implement “Rakupos ECO.”

Poster Session set up using “Rakupos ECO.”

Scene from the Poster Session.

Another SDGs-related aspect of this conference was the “Congress with Kids” initiative, to enable medical professionals to bring their children along and be involved in the meeting. As this was the first fully in-person annual meeting since 2020, the society was keen to ensure that participation would be as easy as possible for many medical professionals. The concept of “Congress with Kids” was exactly that; parents viewed the proceedings via live feed from a special hall where parents could stay together with their children throughout the day. A conventional day-care type of service was also provided in the venue.

Congrès team members giving the kick-off briefing.

As a PCO, Congrès is committed to engaging in new activities, tackling challenges, and proactively proposing measures to our clients, toward realizing sustainable meetings & events, and simultaneously working to ensure inclusivity and contribute to solving issues in society.