Our carbon footprint

As with many other organisations, the pandemic forced us to rapidly adapt our delivery model from one that was predominantly delivered face to face, to one that moved almost completely online.

We have transformed the delivery of our online education, webinars and hybrid events and introduced online exams across medicine, surgery and dental surgery. This has allowed us to celebrate, connect and engage with more members than ever before. We are also continuing to improve access and engagement with our heritage through podcasts, online events, and digital exhibitions.

We are stronger because of this. The shift to more online delivery also made us acutely aware of our carbon footprint – we now travel less, print less and use less energy.

While there are many positives to online delivery, it does also pose many challenges – the greatest of these being the lack of face to face interaction, which we believe is critically important for social cohesion, belonging and communications.

Our focus is on a delivery model that strikes a good balance between online and face to face working. Our approach will also take into consideration our carbon footprint, and how we can ensure our College plays its part in achieving a net zero target. That is why we have committed to develop a net zero roadmap with realistic carbon reductions to achieve net zero by 2040 and a reduction of 40% by 2030.