EHA2026 sustainability

EHA is committed to minimizing the environmental impact of both our organization and our community. 

Our biggest opportunity to make a difference is with EHA Congress, the biggest and most important hematology event in the European calendar. 

In recent years, we’ve pioneered a range of new initiatives aimed at reducing our carbon footprint.

 

EHA2026 activities 

Inspired by the success of EHA2025, we’ve raised our ambition for EHA2026.

Venue 

The EHA2026 Congress venue, Stockholmsmässan, has implemented multiple green initiatives.

Initiatives

  • Certifications: In addition to ISO 20121, the congress center is SHORE-certified and a proud member of Net Zero Carbon Events.
  • Health & Wellbeing: Stockholmsmässan follows a sustainable personnel strategy and has been nominated as a Great Place to Work.
  • Transportation: Easily accessible by public transport and bike-friendly, with direct access from the city.
  • Water Conservation: Equipped with low-flush faucets and toilets that significantly reduce water usage.
  • Food & Beverages: Venue restaurants are KRAV-labeled and do not serve red-listed fish.
  • Recycling: The venue embraces circular thinking and recycles or reuses 98% of its waste.
  • Energy & Ventilation: All electricity is eco-labelled. Heating and cooling are powered by energy-efficient heat pumps.
  • Biodiversity: The venue maintains natural growth zones that attract and sustain pollinators in the park and surrounding areas.

Post-congress we were able to recycle 35,780 kilograms of waste, including: 26,580kg of combustible, construction waste, 7,520kg of wood, 1,680kg of cardboard.

Catering 

The official Congress caterer – Mässrestauranger AB – is certified with the Swedish KRAV eco-label, which means products are made on an organic basis with extra high requirements for animal welfare, health, social responsibility and climate impact. We used as many locally produced products as possible and chose the organic option if available. Before and during the live days, we only procured as much produce that is needed and had several deliveries per day to reduce food waste. Plastic, metal, glass, and cardboard were properly sorted in all kitchens and back of house areas throughout the Congress days. 

Food waste

To minimize food and paper waste, each participant may assemble their own lunch; helping ensure that only what is truly wanted is taken.

Any food waste produced during the Congress was recycled and sent to be used as biogas for the Stockholm city buses. All PET bottles or aluminum cans for beverages were recycled.

Water

The water dispensers are made from food-contact approved Polycarbonate (PC), which offers superior performance compared to PET. PC is designed for long-term reuse, reducing the need for frequent replacement. Because of its high impact resistance and heat resistance, products made from PC have a longer service life, which helps reduce material consumption and waste over time.

Sustainable carpet

The EHA2026 Congress features REWIND, a sustainable, 100% latex-free, and fully recyclable carpet with Cradle-to-Cradle Silver certification.

Digital Participation certificate

By making the certificate of participation available on the Congress platform, EHA is contributing to saving a large amount of paper. Download your certificate of participation as of Sunday, June 14 from the Congress platform or receive it by email (email you registered with).

Congress lanyards

The Congress lanyards are made of polyester fiber from recycled PET bottles. This fabric efficiently conserves natural resources and reduces the burden on the natural environment, which is important to EHA. They are 80% made with renewable energy source of solar panels from European production. We also encouraged attendees to leave their lanyards before exiting the venue so we could re-use them.

 

EHA2025 environmental progress report 

Downloadable participation certificates 

We reduced the use of both paper and printer ink by making the certificate of participation available to download on the Congress platform. 

Transportation 

We provided free public transport tickets to all registered participants. 

Catering 

We pioneered a new ‘build-your-own-lunch’ approach to reduce food and paper waste. 

We selected a catering partner who focused on sustainable and local products. The food recovered over the Congress days — approximately 750 kg, including first and second courses, fruit, and desserts — was delivered to the soup kitchen of Opera Messa della Carità in Milan, which provides meals to 160 people living in poverty every day. 

Lanyards 

We introduced lanyards made of polyester fiber from recycled PET bottles. These were made in a factory where 80% of the power came from European solar panels. 

Venue 

We selected a convention center that was powered by renewable energy and that used specific bins to encourage waste separation and recycling.  

We also used a recycled carpet which was then transformed into secondary raw materials used for items such as graphic panels, waste bins, furniture components, and more. By recycling the carpet used for Congress, 25.675 kg of CO₂ emissions were avoided.  

Graphics 

Forex graphics were collected, broken down and fully recycled to produce more graphics for subsequent events.  

PVC graphics were upcycled by a brand of sustainable tailoring, that uses them to produce reusable shopping bags – after removing all logos/company names.  

 

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