Net zero update for 2025

2025 Summary

As in previous years, we have calculated the estimated carbon footprint of the IETF. This includes IETF plenary meetings and ongoing operations that support the work of the IETF community. In addition to meetings, the total calculated carbon footprint includes the ongoing operations by the IETF Administration LLC and the IETF Secretariat, as well as RFC Production Center staff. These calculations rely on data already collected around IETF meetings and other operations, and take a conservative approach which aims to fully capture emissions.

The 2025 calculated carbon footprint for the IETF declined slightly over the 2024 calculated carbon footprint, even as some factors in the calculation, such as onsite meeting participation, increased. This difference is largely due to the relative carbon footprint of holding meetings at venues in different geographies. Given the lead time for and various considerations in selecting IETF meeting venues, this particular aspect is likely to vary from year to year.

^{* tCO2e = tonnes (t) of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent (e)}

Offsetting is an ongoing consideration. The voluntary offset market continues to evolve and we are continuing to monitor it. Given the dynamic situation we are not yet considering options for offsetting. However, we will take a closer look at this in the upcoming year and will restart community consultations if there seem to be options that match initial community input and guidance gathered in 2022.

In 2025, we continued to advance our food-waste reduction efforts and our goal of eliminating single-use plastics across food service and meetings. We also asked venues to share more detail about their sustainability practices, which provided valuable insight into the environmental impact of our meeting locations. For example, at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, the venue for IETF 124 Montreal, 99% of electricity is generated from renewable sources. The hotel has implemented energy-efficiency measures that use waste heat from in-house machinery to partially heat both water and the building. In addition, AI-driven food-waste monitoring allows the venue to adjust menus and food preparation practices, significantly reducing overall waste by more than half. 

These venue-specific sustainability measures are not captured in our current model for calculating the IETF’s carbon footprint. This is inline with our conservative approach whereby we aim to ensure calculations do not underestimate the IETF’s carbon footprint. However, the general trend of venues towards more sustainable practices over the past few years suggests we revisit our model which was developed in 2022.

Aside from addressing the IETF’s direct carbon footprint, we worked with Labdoo, a global collaborative social network of grassroots volunteers using CO2-neutral means to provide schools in need with unused computers loaded with powerful educational software. Our first event with Labdoo was at IETF 123 Madrid with laptops donated by meeting participants. We are making plans to reprise this effort at meetings in 2026.

2026 Plans

Going forward, we will continue to calculate the IETF’s carbon for 2026, considering whether our existing methods and models might be improved. 

Building on our 2025 efforts, we will continue to monitor and refine food and beverage planning to reduce overall waste, work closely with venues to better understand and align with their sustainability practices, and collaborate toward more sustainable meetings. We will also partner with Labdoo and explore additional partnerships to reduce e-waste and create positive impact as we travel globally.

We are particularly grateful for the support IETF Sustainability sponsors, such as Bronze Sponsor NTT, provide for this work. If you or your organization would also like to support efforts to make how the IETF works more sustainable, please contact Stephanie McCammon of the IETF sponsorship team.

If you are interested in learning more and participating in the conversation, please subscribe and contribute to the admin-discuss@ietf.org mailing list.

2025 IETF meeting carbon footprint calculations

The graphs below were generated using the IETF Emissions Calculator developed as part of the project to develop a path towards net zero for the IETF.