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If held on-site, the events would have produced around 26,370 tonnes more of CO2 equivalents, according to WSP - or roughly 40 times the amount expended during virtual-only events.

To put that in context, 26,370 tonnes of CO2 is equivalent to 5,813 cars driven for one year or the emissions produced from powering 3,219 homes for a full year. The most significant carbon emissions would have been generated by the travel to and from the events, in particular air travel.

So, what’s the answer? Stop flying?

If only it were that simple.

While the report was comprehensive in its support for virtual events, it overlooked something altogether harder to quantify: the added value of meeting face-to-face.

Few would deny the benefits of online meetings – increased attendees, more accessible and amenable to our busy lives, lower costs for organisers and delegates, and, of course, kinder to the planet. But they have their limitations.

International conferences are not just about delivering education. They are about building relationships, exchanging knowledge, and forging a better world. There is an element of serendipity - the chance encounter - and a richness of human contact that is nigh-on impossible to replicate through a computer screen.

In a poll of 900 readers of the science journal Nature , 74 per cent agreed that scientific meetings should continue to be virtual, or have a virtual component, after the pandemic ends. But these same readers admitted that virtual events haven’t been able to provide the networking and collaboration with colleagues that they gained from in-person events.

“I do appreciate the realm of possibilities offered by online conferences,” wrote one respondent. “However, I really miss the opportunity to meet people and to interact with friends and colleagues.”

Anna Abdelnoor, co-founder of sustainable event consultancy isla, said that virtual events should be the future in the short-medium term, from both an environmental and a health and safety perspective.

“Our global infrastructures – like travel, agriculture and energy – are in the process of transitioning to enable the future we require, and globally we need to drastically reduce global carbon emissions, which is business-critical,” she says.

However, it could be argued that even when a conference’s primary purpose is to tackle the climate crisis, such as the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP), decision-makers need to be in same room for meaningful change to happen.

Abdelnoor argues that events like COP (where the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015) or the Olympic Games, provide 'an outlet for national cohesion and celebration', which provided 'real value to individuals, communities and for change-making' and 'shouldn’t be written off'.

Later this year, COP26 will take place in Glasgow and while the COP26 itinerary and conference goals will be planned long before the delegates arrive, there’s no saying how many impromptu interactions and meaningful connections will take place.

In fact, COP26 president Alok Sharma has been busy forming these connections with nations around the world ahead of the meeting, visiting 30 countries in seven months. While he was accused of ‘hypocrisy’ after racking up tens of thousands of air miles in quick succession, a government spokesperson defended the minister’s travel itinerary, arguing that while, 'virtual meetings play a large part, however face to face meetings are key to success in the climate negotiations the UK is leading as hosts of COP26 and are crucial to understanding first-hand the opportunities and challenges other countries are facing in the fight against climate change'.

Various studies support this view. In a report by Forbes Insight 85 per cent of people said they built 'stronger, more meaningful business relationships during in-person meetings and conferences'. A study in the Harvard Review, revealed 95 per cent of people believe face-to-face meetings are a key factor in successfully building and maintaining long-term business relationships.

Factors such as body language, fewer distractions, shared interest, and intentions are all better navigated and determined when everyone is in the same room.

The Head of the European Commission’s climate plans, Frans Timmermans, said it was 'essential' that this year’s UN climate summit in Glasgow was held in-person and the event could not be held virtually if world leaders were to make progress on cutting emissions.

Before the pandemic, international meeting attendees wouldn’t have questioned attending multiple meetings in destinations across the world within a year. Yet this hiatus from in-person events, and the grounding of the aviation industry, has put the frequency in which we used to travel into perspective.

MeetGreen president, Nancy Zavada, believes this is an opportunity to do things differently: “When meeting face to face, consider holding the event in a location closest to the majority of the participants. Associations are perfect for regional ‘pods’ during an international meeting. The local chapters already have the participants, networks and infrastructure to support these efforts.”

She adds: “Attendance should also increase for those who are caretakers of either young families or older parents who can't take the time away to travel internationally. This will also improve the accessibility for those without the economic support to attend.”

While Zavada is an advocate for virtual meetings, she disagrees that it’s the only sustainable method of meeting. “There are many ways to make the event sustainable if the decision is made to hold it in person. I do believe that associations should ‘future proof’ their events by providing some form of virtual experience in case natural disasters, pandemics and weather-related issues continue to increase.

“There is no perfect solution to air travel. We advise that first every attempt is made to reduce air travel and then, purchase offsets to mitigate the travel that can't be reduced. It isn't a perfect solution, but it is the best we have at this time.

“Try to choose an offset project in line with your organisation's mission or in the local community where the event will be held, the options are increasing daily.”

The digital divide is highlighted through virtual events and while some associations and other trade bodies have announced financial and hardware support schemes for members and delegates in regions with less robust internet connectivity, these schemes don’t account for power outages and other regional issues.

For critical change to happen quickly and efficiently, meetings that tackle big issues have to be inclusive and accessible – and this isn’t always possible when delegates are starting on different footings.

Despite obvious digital inequities in tech and accessibility, the rise of online meetings has enabled more people to access content and discussions who may have previously missed out due to economic disadvantages, preventing them from attending in-person events. Other restrictive factors including illness, childcare and impaired mobility are minimised with online events.

Before 2020, the first steps of organising an event were finding a location and a venue. Then pandemic replaced those steps with Zoom, Teams and other virtual event platforms. Now that the international meetings markets are reopening, should association event planners organise in-person events only if absolutely necessary?

“Questioning the need for an in-person event and if it can be delivered virtually is the first point of call for positive climate impact, followed by using in-person experiences to drive positive behavioural and cultural changes – from slow travel to green plates and experience over consumerism”, added Abdelnoor.

While carbon emissions are a vital part of the climate puzzle, there are also other important challenges that we need to tackle – from biodiversity loss to food waste. Human interaction, which in-person events enable, is essential for challenging entrenched ways of thinking about and doing business. If we are to meet our ambitious emissions targets, and reverse environmental degradation, we need to build international networks of proactive and inspired change-makers – who collaborate in-person and online.