Conferences comeback faces climate challenge as virtual mode gains currency

The coronavirus may have transformed office life but it hasn't altered the conference circuit.

Event organizers are planning a return to in-person confabs as soon as the pandemic dissipates despite the environmental benefits of keeping things online.

From airmiles and gas-guzzling shuttle buses to lake-sized quantities of plastic bottled water and piles of brochures, events can exact a heavy toll.

Pre-COVID, the annual carbon footprint for the global event and convention industry was on par with the yearly greenhouse gas emissions of the United States, according to a study by Cornell University and researchers from the American Center for Life