Science plays a fundamental role in identifying climate change and mobilising societies in tackling this crucial challenge of our times. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 13 calls for “urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” and the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 aims to mobilise everyone in tackling the climate crisis. Science Europe engaged with this challenge by launching, together with partners, a Call to Action for the Net-Zero Transition for research organisations. The promoters of this initiative committed “to supporting and enabling concrete actions which will help the research and education sector to address the many challenges of global sustainability”. In 2023–24, the Global Research Council addressed the challenge of “Making Research Itself Sustainable”, providing a new opportunity to develop this topic at the international level.
Webinar 3: Promoting Ecological Sustainability in Research Systems
Tuesday 4 June, 14.00–15.00 (CEST)
This last webinar addressed the actions needed to promote the ecological sustainability of research activities and the whole R&I systems. Acknowledging national differences, the speakers addressed the following questions:
- Promoting Sustainability in Research Organisations: What steps can be taken to encourage and develop sustainability practices within research organisations?
- Integrating Sustainability into Research Funding Processes: How can sustainability considerations be integrated into the processes for funding research projects?
- Challenges for Large Research Organisations: What are the specific challenges faced by large research facilities and infrastructure in achieving ecological sustainability?
- Collaborative Actions: What collaborative efforts are needed to mobilise stakeholders and scale up existing sustainability initiatives in research?
Webinar 2: Greening Digitalisation
Tuesday 28 May, 14.00–15.00 (CEST)
This second webinar focused on the environmental challenges posed by digitalisation in research activities, and how to make digital processes more sustainable.
- Reducing Environmental Impact: How can we minimise the environmental footprint of digital research activities, which often require extensive computing resources and data processing?
- Sustainable IT Equipment: What strategies can be adopted to ensure that IT equipment used in research has sustainable life cycles, from design to disposal?
- Balancing Performance and Environmental Impact: How can researchers balance the need for computing power with the goal of reducing environmental impact? What criteria should be considered beyond just performance?
Webinar 1: Sustainability Strategies in Research Organisations
Tuesday 21 May, 14.00–15.00 (CEST)
The first webinar explored how research organisations are working towards sustainability. Specifically, the speakers dealt with how research funding and performing organisations assess their environmental impacts and are taking steps to reduce it.
- Measuring Environmental Impact: How do research organisations appraise their carbon footprint and ecological effects? What approaches do they use?
- Sustainability Strategies: What strategies and tools are research organisations currently using, or developing, to reduce or mitigate their ecological impacts?
- Sharing Best Practices: What are some effective actions and practices that research organisations can share with each other to promote the sustainability of the whole research system?
- DATE WEBINAR
- 21 May Sustainability Strategies in Research Organisations
- 28 May Greening Digitalisation
- 4 June Promoting Ecological Sustainability in Research Systems
