We are proud to partner with the CIJ Awards for the second year in a row, helping them calculate and understand the environmental impact of their event. The CIJ Awards Romania 2024 recognized outstanding achievements across various categories, including residential, commercial, and mixed-use developments. This high-profile event brought together leading professionals and highlighted the latest trends and successes in the Romanian real estate market. 

 

This year, we’ve taken an even more detailed approach, by adding new data like emissions from jury meetings to create a clearer picture of the event’s carbon footprint.

 

What Was the Event Carbon Footprint?

 

 

The CIJ Awards 2024 had a total carbon footprint of 6019 kgCO₂e, broken down as follows:

 

Food and Beverages: 2644 kgCO₂e (44%) of total emissions, the largest contributor.

Commuting and Team Effort: 2490 kgCO2e (42%), reflecting travel and staff activities.

Materials: 323 kgCO₂e (5%)

Waste: 329 kgCO₂e  (5%).

Electricity: 233 kgCO₂e (4%), showing efficient energy use.

 

This breakdown shows that 96% of emissions came from Scope 3 (indirect emissions like travel and food), while Scope 2 (electricity) accounted for just 4%.

 

What Does This Footprint Look Like?

 

Sometimes it’s hard to picture what these numbers mean, so we’ve made it easy through a comparation with individual common items.

 

 

 

For example, the event's carbon footprint is equivalent to producing 144 cocktail dresses. Each dress represents not just fabric and design but also the energy, water, and transportation involved in its creation, highlighting the hidden environmental impact that each action has.

 

A Step Forward: Improvements Since Last Year

 

Compared to 2023, this year’s gala revealed real progress, the carbon footprint per participant dropped by 4.85%, from 17.70 kgCO₂e in 2023 to 16.86 kgCO₂e in 2024. This shows that taking small but meaningful steps, like addressing major emission sources, can lead to measurable improvements over time.

 

What’s Next? Becoming Carbon Neutral

 

As last year, the goal is again to minimize the environmental impact by having the event carbon neutral. There are many ways to do this, and as a simple example, to help neutralize this impact, 273 trees can be planted for a long-term carbon sequestration action.

 

The good news? Short-term options are also available, therefore, Carbon Tool and The CIJ Awards have offseted this year’s emissions through Verified Carbon Offsets, taking responsibility for their environmental impact.

 

Working Together for a Greener Future

 

By continuing our partnership with the CIJ Awards, we’re showing how transparency and small changes can make a big difference. Together, we’re proving that events can celebrate achievements while caring for the planet.

 

We’re excited to see what next year brings and how we can keep improving!