Geographic Impact of Surgical Conferences on Travel Burden and Carbon Emissions: Multisociety Study

In-person surgical conferences generate substantial travel-related carbon emissions, largely driven by long-distance transportation. Prior studies have examined individual meetings, but multisociety analyses remain limited. We evaluated travel distance and modeled carbon emissions across major North American surgical society meetings to determine the impact of conference location on environmental burden.

We conducted a retrospective observational study of 22,976 attendees from five surgical societies across 14 conferences (2022-2025). Attendee home locations were geocoded, and travel distance was calculated using great-circle (Haversine) methods. Travel-related carbon emissions were estimated using Environmental Protection Agency emission factors with travel mode assigned using distance-based thresholds. Multivariable linear regression adjusted for conference year, conference identity, attendee role, and geographic region.

Median one-way travel distance was 2096 km (interquartile range 954-3168 km). Conferences held in the Western United States were associated with the longest travel distances (median 2842 km), while Midwestern conferences had the shortest distances (median 804 km) (P < 0.001). Median modeled round-trip emissions were 722 kg carbon dioxide-equivalent per attendee (722 metric tons per 1000 attendees). Western conferences generated approximately 702 additional metric tons carbon dioxide-equivalent per 1000 attendees compared with Midwestern conferences. In adjusted models, conference region independently predicted both travel distance and carbon emissions.

Conference location is a major determinant of travel-related carbon emissions in surgical education. Geographic site selection represents a high-impact, modifiable strategy to reduce the environmental footprint of national surgical meetings.