Everything we do at the ITI is guided by our values. These include social responsibility and good stewardship, i.e. responsibility towards society as well as economic, social and environmental sustainability. We take our values seriously and do our best to translate them into tangible benefits for the global society at large.
We achieved a great deal in 2022 from many different perspectives. We were finally back to face-to-face meetings both on a global and local level, which was much appreciated by everyone. Meeting up face-to-face leads to more effective results, but the downside is increased travel and a higher CO2 footprint.
Compensating our carbon footprint
We tracked and systematically offset our carbon footprint throughout the year for the 3,537,278 km travelled by the Board, Committees and ITI HQ and donated EUR 13,443 for the 584,476 kg CO2 generated to atmosfair.
atmosfair is a German non-profit organization that actively contributes to CO₂ mitigation by promoting, developing and financing renewable energy. Their projects aim at reducing CO₂ emissions and supporting sustainable development by transferring technology and combating poverty in the developing world. These range from providing efficient cookstoves, installing solar energy, biogas and biomass, hydro power as well as supporting environmental education and rebuilding tourism. We chose atmosfair because 90 % of their carbon offset projects adhere to the CDM Gold Standard, the strictest standard available for climate protection projects. atmosfair also currently develops microprojects involving new technologies according to the Gold Standard microscale.
Going the extra mile
Apart from travel, the ITI’s continuous growth and development has had an impact on the general infrastructure necessary at ITI Headquarters to ensure the smooth running of the organization, resulting in higher energy consumption, in particular for IT projects. We address this by making sure that 100% of the electricity used comes from renewable sources such as hydro, solar and wind power, and that green hosting applies. All new hardware purchases are carbon-compensated and any old hardware gets a new lease of life:
In 2022, 20 laptops were donated to schools in the developing world through the NPO Labdoo that overhauls and distributes hardware to give children and young people access to better educational opportunities.
During the winter months, ITI HQ employees are kept warm thanks to climate friendly and CO2-neutral district heating. All employees are not only encouraged but also financially supported to use public transportation for commuting and business travel within the region. As Basel is such a bike-friendly city, many employees can get away with using hardly any public transport at all.
Section sustainability
But it is not only ITI HQ that is working actively towards greater sustainability, our Sections are also making their contribution. For example, for their upcoming ITI Congress Germany & Austria in Dresden, both Sections have taken “Sustainability in Implant Dentistry – Wish or Reality” as their main topic. The event is billed as the first sustainable implant dentistry congress in Germany with all the necessary measures in place.
Living up to our values is central to our organization and social responsibility means helping people in need. In 2022, Ukraine became our 32nd Section, and we undertook to see how we could assist them meaningfully. A EUR 50,000 donation has been made by the ITI to the charitable fund Dental Help UA that implements measures to restore the dental health of war victims.
