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Sustainability and Eco-Justice in Everyday Research - RE4GREEN

Research shapes the world – not just through big discoveries, but through the everyday choices we make: what questions we ask, which methods we use, how we share our work. The RE4GREEN micromodules can be used individually or together to guide students, researchers, citizen scientists, people reviewing research proposals and those teaching research ethics on how to embed sustainability and eco-justice knowledge, skills and values in research.

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RE4GREEN

Sustainability and Eco-Justice in Everyday Research

Instruction

Introduction to environmental justice

After completing this micro-module learners will be able to:

• Understand the concept of environmental justice
• Understand on how environmental harms and benefits are often distributed unequally across different communities.
• Reflect on the responsibility researchers hold in shaping sustainable and fair outcomes.

Secondary learning objectives:

Recognize that certain communities and social groups face disproportionately high exposure to environmental hazards.

Reflect on how such disparities may arise within the context of their own research or professional practice.

0.4 hour(s)

Individual learning

Instruction

Addressing environmental justice in research & innovation

Analyze the environmental implications of research through the lens of ethical principles related to Environmental Justice:

• Leave No One Behind
• Do No Significant Harm (DNSH)
• Precautionary Principle
• Polluter Pays Principle
• Informed consent

Apply each principle to research practice by responding to questions that prompt critical reflection.

0.4 hour(s)

Instruction

Applying Ecofeminist Ethics to Research

After completing this modules learners will be able to:

1. understand the role of ecofeminist principles in research;
2. apply relevant ecofeminist principles to various research dilemmas.

0.3 hour(s)

Instruction

Planetary health, human well-being and environmental justice

This introductory micromodule explores the concept of Planetary Health as a framework linking human well-being with the state of natural systems.

By the end of the module, participants should be able to:

Explain how environmental degradation affects human health through the framework of planetary boundaries and apply the principle of planetary health to reflect on unequal health burdens and propose equitable responses.

Participants should also be able to:

• Identify the disproportionate effects of climate change on different populations.
• Reflect on the ethical implications of environmental injustices.
• Relate the concept of planetary health to research responsibilities.

0.75 hour(s)

Individual learning

Instruction

Ethics of care and human-nature relations

By the end of this micromodule participants should be able to:  

1) Understand core ethics of care concepts and their basis in feminist and indigenous philosophies

2) Identify care-based practices in your own research setting

3) Propose strategies for strengthening care-based and environmentally aware practices in your own research and research setting.

1 hour(s)

Individual learning

Embracing Complexity

Instruction

Just Transition (part one): Sustainability as a wicked problem

This Micromodule introduces sustainability as a wicked problem and highlights the importance of Perspective Taking, Systems Thinking, and Negotiation in engineering.

By the end of the module participants will be able to:

• Understand the wicked nature of sustainability and recognize the complexity of balancing environmental, social, and economic dimensions in engineering decisions.
• Apply transversal skills — Perspective Taking, Systems Thinking, and Negotiation — to analyze and solve complex sustainability challenges in engineering contexts.
• Evaluate material and design choices considering environmental impacts, societal wellbeing, and ethical responsibilities to promote sustainable engineering practices.
• Reflect on the broader responsibilities of engineers in creating solutions that are socially responsible, environmentally sound, and technically effective.

0.35 hour(s)

Individual learning

Instruction

Just Transition (part two): Green Colonialism and Energy Justice

Identify and distinguish key types of justice (e.g., recognition, spatial, distributive, epistemic, intergenerational) that shape environmental justice debates. Recognize how certain green initiatives overlook broader social and historical contexts.

0.4 hour(s)

Instruction

Mapping research connections to environmental justice: Crisis Tree exercise

This micromodule invites researchers and students to reflect on their work in relation to intersectional environmental justice using a visual “Crisis Tree”.

By the end of the module, participants should be able to:

• Identify systemic factors (e.g., public policy, health equity, urban inequality) that shape research impacts and responsibilities.
•  Map research linkages to climate justice, interspecies justice, and gendered (urban) contexts using the “Crisis Tree”.
•  Articulate how their research connects with environmental and climate justice using intersectionality-based thinking.

0.5 hour(s)

Instruction

Mapping research connections to environmental justice: Crisis Tree exercise

This micromodule invites researchers and students to reflect on their work in relation to intersectional environmental justice using a visual “Crisis Tree”.

By the end of the module, participants should be able to:

• Identify systemic factors (e.g., public policy, health equity, urban inequality) that shape research impacts and responsibilities.
•  Map research linkages to climate justice, interspecies justice, and gendered (urban) contexts using the “Crisis Tree”.
•  Articulate how their research connects with environmental and climate justice using intersectionality-based thinking.

0.5 hour(s)

Instruction

Incorporating gender, health, and climate justice in your research: A reflexive question card exercise

This micromodule introduces a reflexive tool based on question cards designed to support researchers and practitioners in integrating intersectional gender, health, and climate considerations into their research. Developed by Verdonk et al. (2024), the card prompts support thoughtful engagement with public policy contexts, systemic inequities, and positionality. Drawing on the Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis (IBPA) framework, ecofeminist theory, and feminist systems thinking, the cards help participants address equity, voice, and sustainability in the context of planetary health and just urban transitions.

By the end of this micromodule, participants should be able to:

-      Identify and reflect on intersectional dimensions (e.g. gender, race, class, disability) in climate and health research.

-      Explore how power and privilege operate in environmental and health research design and policy influence.

-      Formulate more inclusive and socially just research questions using reflexive prompts.

0.65 hour(s)

Individual learning

Instruction

Doing research with communities affected by climate change: Climate-conscious methodologies matrix (for researchers and ethics reviewers)

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

Evaluate different approaches to research design in terms of fairness, inclusivity, and responsiveness to underrepresented communities.

Apply responsible research methods in citizen science or community engagement in climate-affected contexts.

0.8 hour(s)

Instruction

Doing research with communities affected by climate change: Climate-conscious methodologies matrix (for students and citizen scientists)

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

Evaluate different approaches to research design in terms of fairness, inclusivity, and responsiveness to underrepresented communities.

Apply responsible research methods in citizen science or community engagement in climate-affected contexts.

0.8 hour(s)

Instruction

Circularity in Research and Innovation

This Micromodule introduces participants to the concept of circularity and its application in research and innovation.

By the end of this module participants should be able to:

• Understand the concept of circularity and explain its relevance to sustainable research and innovation.
• Identify and apply the 9R strategies (Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufacture, Repurpose, Recycle) in practical contexts.
• Develop systems thinking and adaptability skills to analyze how circularity influences research, innovation, and design decisions.
• Integrate circular principles into their professional activities to promote sustainability and resource efficiency.

0.34 hour(s)

Individual learning

Instruction

Technology and sustainability

By the end of this micromodule, participants will be able to:

• Identify key environmental and climate impacts associated with technology.
• Distinguish between “greening by technology” and “greening of technology.”
• Apply practical design principles for more sustainable technology.
• Reflect on how sustainability considerations apply to their own research or innovation practices.
• Evaluate the ethical and social implications of sustainable technology choices

0.5 hour(s)

Instruction

Nature Relations in Research and Innovation

This micromodule introduces Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) and Multispecies Thinking as key frameworks for sustainable and inclusive research and innovation.

By the end of this micromodule, learners should be able to:

1. List the advantages of NBS for research and innovation and differentiate from greenwashing.
2. Reflect on a case study that applies multispecies thinking to urban design.
3. Consider how you could apply these insights to your research and innovation projects.

0.5 hour(s)

1-20

Instruction

Planetary health, human well-being and environmental justice

This introductory micromodule explores the concept of Planetary Health as a framework linking human well-being with the state of natural systems.

By the end of the module, participants should be able to:

Explain how environmental degradation affects human health through the framework of planetary boundaries and apply the principle of planetary health to reflect on unequal health burdens and propose equitable responses.

Participants should also be able to:

• Identify the disproportionate effects of climate change on different populations.
• Reflect on the ethical implications of environmental injustices.
• Relate the concept of planetary health to research responsibilities.

0.75 hour(s)

Individual learning

Envisioning sustainable futures

Instruction

Innovation in a post-growth world

This Micromodule familiarizes participants with the ideas of degrowth, postgrowth, and post-growth-oriented innovation, highlighting the limits of traditional growth and the need for sustainable, socially just approaches.

By the end of the module participants should be able to:

• Recognize the significant differences between growth-oriented and post-growth-oriented innovation.
• Identify and understand the core values associated with each orientation.
• Reflect on the role of each approach to innovation in relation to sustainability.
• Assess the broader social significance of both approaches to innovation.

0.4 hour(s)

Individual learning

Instruction

The Environmental Cost of AI: What Can we do about it?

By the end of this micromodule, participants will be able to:

• Identify key environmental impacts of AI technologies
• Explain how AI’s infrastructure contributes to climate and environmental pressures
• Reflect on trade-offs and future governance needs regarding AI deployment

0.5 hour(s)

Instruction

Directionality towards planetary stewardship: From disconnection to relational praxis

This short micromodule introduces learners to the visual and conceptual model of “directionality towards planetary stewardship” developed by Redvers et al. (2023). It prompts critical reflection on how our institutions, knowledge systems, and personal attitudes either reproduce or resist dominant paradigms of disconnection. The exercise helps bridge the cognitive, affective, and relational shifts needed to move from disconnection to stewardship. It integrates Indigenous pedagogies, critical theory, and planetary health education frameworks.

By the end of this module, participants should be able to:

Recognise the paradigm shift from extractivist/anthropocentric logics to relational, ecocentric orientations.

Reflect on their own positionality and role as planetary stewards.

Explore the role of emotion, compassion, and plural knowledge systems in transforming research and education practices.

Identify actions to support inclusive, just, and relational planetary health education

0.6 hour(s)

Individual learning

Instruction

Earth to research podcasts

By taking this module learners will use the content of the Earth to Research podcast to reflect on how to align research methods and research ethics with environmental justice.

0.5 hour(s)

Acting for sustainability

Instruction

Creating and communicating a sustainable research culture

By the end of the module participants should be able to:

• Develop a tailored climate communication strategy for their research environment (department, group, project).
• Explore practical ways to implement small but impactful behavioral changes that promote sustainability within academic culture.
• Apply core sustainability values when planning and delivering events or conferences in their field.

0.35 hour(s)

Individual learning

Instruction

From waste to wisdom: rethinking plastic waste management in the lab

The primary learning objective of this micromodule is to:

• Enhance understanding of the role and importance of plastic waste recycling for a green and sustainable lab.

Secondary learning objectives include:

• Familiarize students, researchers, and lab managers with the different types of plastic materials in a lab.
• Explore actionable steps for managing and recycling plastics in a lab.
• Reflect on the challenges of developing a recycling pipeline for plastic waste in a lab.

0.75 hour(s)

Individual learning

Instruction

Green Labs, Smarter Science: Practical Steps for Sustainable Research and Innovation

This micromodule is designed to raise awareness about sustainable laboratory (lab) management through environmentally friendly practices that promote green labs, improve research efficiency and drive smarter innovation.

By the end of this activity should be able to:

• Identify daily small actions that can be undertaken to make labs more environmentally friendly.
• Examine the case of inefficient energy use in labs to identify underlying causes and propose improvement strategies.
• Reflect on how changes towards sustainable management should be implemented

0.75 hour(s)

Individual learning