The Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice
From The Embassy of Good Science
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The Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice
What is this about?
The Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice is a voluntary agreement developed by the UK research and innovation sector to make research and innovation more environmentally sustainable. It recognises that research has an important role in understanding and addressing climate change and biodiversity loss, but that research activities themselves also have environmental impacts.
The Concordat provides a shared framework for organisations to reduce these impacts while continuing to deliver high-quality research. It covers environmental issues including carbon emissions, water, waste, resource use and biodiversity. It focuses on six priority areas: leadership and system change; sustainable infrastructure; sustainable procurement; business and academic travel; collaborations and partnerships; and environmental impact and reporting data. The aim is to encourage organisations to work collectively towards environmentally responsible research practices and support the transition towards net zero and greater environmental sustainability by 2050.Why is this important?
The Concordat is important because research and innovation can contribute significantly to environmental challenges, but research itself can also require substantial energy, materials, equipment, travel and infrastructure. The Concordat encourages organisations to address these impacts without compromising research quality. It provides a common framework for universities, research institutes, funders and individual researchers to work towards more sustainable practices. It also encourages transparency, collaboration and sharing of good practice. Importantly, the Concordat promotes practical changes such as sustainable procurement, reducing travel emissions, using sustainable infrastructure and improving environmental impact data. This can help research organisations reduce their carbon footprint while continuing to produce high-quality, internationally impactful research.
