EuroELSO integrates sustainability into its activities — from advancing ECMO/ECLS in healthcare to shaping the Annual Congress.
Sustainability is an integral aspect of the Annual Congress. Beyond serving as a platform for scientific exchange, the event is organized with attention to reducing environmental impact through collaboration with responsible venues, waste reduction, and encouragement of conscious travel choices.
Just as ECMO/ECLS work supports a resilient healthcare future, the congress reflects a broader commitment to responsibility and innovation.
Explore sustainability initiatives and progress below.
App
To reduce unnecessary printing and waste, the EuroELSO Congress uses a congress app. It provides participants with easy access to schedules, abstracts, and event updates in a fully digital format — making the congress more flexible, interactive, and environmentally friendly.
Participants are encoutaged to actively use the app in order to completely replace the printed programme in the upcoming years.
Catering
In line with our sustainability efforts, the congress offers exclusively vegetarian catering. This decision significantly reduces the ecological footprint of the event while still ensuring high-quality, diverse, and enjoyable meal options for all participants.
Partners
EuroELSO works closely with partners and suppliers who share our sustainability values. From venue selection to logistics, we prioritize collaborations that contribute to reducing the environmental footprint of the congress.
EuroELSO uses HotelMap as its exclusive booking partner, which helps to identify hotels that are green certified 
and eliminate redundant hotel reservations and avoids the need for travel intermediaries that often generate unnecessary waste. By centralizing hotel bookings through a trusted digital platform, EuroELSO reduces paper-use (no physical brochures or reservation forms) and limits the environmental footprint associated with traditional booking methods.
The RDS implements a comprehensive waste management system with separate streams for recyclable materials, compostable food and glass, and uses naturally‐based cleaning and toiletry products in public areas. It operates an energy management system, has a 100 kW solar panel array on site, supports electric vehicle charging, and is replacing diesel buggies with electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions.
Total Expo is working toward becoming carbon-neutral by 2030, with milestones including training its core team in sustainability practices and integrating advanced environmental goals into all its operations. Their “Eco by Total Expo” brand offers exhibitors reusable graphics and materials, so that stand components can be repurposed or reused for future events rather than discarded.
Printed materials
Since the 2025 congress, EuroELSO no longer provides congress bags and has scaled back on printed materials. Instead, EuroELSO offers digital resources such as the congress app and the online abstract book to reduce paper use and promote sustainability.
Reusable materials
We are committed to reducing single-use plastics throughout the congress. By choosing sustainable alternatives wherever possible, we aim to lower waste generation and promote responsible resource use.
Sustainability working group
EuroELSO has founded a working group focused on Sustainabilty to explore, set standards and implement ways how EuroELSO and the ECMO/ECLS community can deliver their services and patient care as sustainable and future proof as possible.
Contact:
Chair: Peter Roeleveld
Co-Chair: Jana Assy
EuroELSO Representative
euroelso@interplan.de
