Hi Reader, some funding bodies and governments are pushing for reporting on sustainable practices.
Also, many companies have started to report themselves or hold their contractors accountable.
However, the guidelines and expectations can be confusing.
As I often get questions from those who already have to report, I thought I’d share some practical insights and unique resources:
Today's Lesson: How to Report Effectively
When funding bodies require sustainability
Number of the Day
The DFG, Germany’s largest funding body, allocated 5.5 million euros specifically to sustainability-related laboratory projects. In a call for ideas on the “resource-efficient use of large research instruments,” it selected nine projects ranging from hydrogen generation to light and transmission electron microscopy. Other funding bodies already cover the premiums for more sustainable instruments and consumables. But what do you have to do in return when it comes to reporting?
5 500 000
Sustainability Reporting for Funding
Submit a dedicated report, otherwise, you may no longer be eligible for funding or contracts. This happens more and more often.
However, we see a two-stage model, especially with funding bodies.
As I discussed previously, in the Heidelberg Agreement, 7 major European funding bodies recognized sustainability as a factor in funding decisions. In industry, we might see the CSRD drive change internationally.
Initially, reports are mainly intended to prompt you to consider where sustainability can be implemented and to start quantifying impacts.
The issuing body thereby supports its own environmental goals and can begin to analyze as well as monitor changes.
The second step is requiring action.
UK funding bodies, for instance, require all applicants to be certified by My Green Lab or LEAF.
If you want to prepare yourself, I have created a brief overview of these certifications for you. But let's focus on reporting for now:
What You Have to Report On
I was in close touch with those who rolled these programs out. Those people are scientists, not sustainability experts.
Since the goal is to keep science as the priority, without requiring you to change your research topic or fundamentally redesign your laboratory processes, most reporting schemes focus on four broad areas:
Experimental Aspects Including experimental design and planning, experimental conduct, like the use of items, chemicals, and reagents.
Bioinformatics For instance, monitoring and reducing energy footprints.
Procurement and Instruments Entailing the purchase of new items and the handling, maintenance, and repair of instruments.
Travel Involving transportation mode and switching to virtual alternatives.
Access it right here. PS: It took me almost half an hour to somehow transfer this table - for whatever reason I started to prepare this table in PowerPoint...
As you can see, these categories are neither exhaustive nor very precise, making the process appear difficult and intimidating.
Therefore, let me give you pragmatic advice on how to work through this and what you are expected to do.
Tips on How to Do That
There are many ways to go about it. When I am consulting, this is what I would suggest:
First, find out whether your lab has one or more sustainability enthusiasts.
I prepared an email template for you to copy, paste, and send to your group.
Anybody with interest in the topic will usually be more than aware of what has been done and what could be improved.
If you don’t get input, I have prepared several resources that can help.
I created an overview of the categories in which sustainable action can be driven in the laboratory. This gives you a clearer idea of what to think about and what these categories include.
As of now, this is mostly left to you. There is no requirement to monitor one specific type of impact, conduct a full footprint analysis, or exclude actions because they seem too small.
Given the openness in writing these reports, here is how I would prioritize your content:
Where have you already taken action on sustainability?
Where have you quantified impacts?
Which plans are you currently preparing to roll out?
Where can you realistically imagine change happening?
Pro tip: Consider guidelines that have become second nature. For example, some institutions have travel guidelines stating that air travel is not allowed for distances shorter than 1000 kilometers.
How are these reports evaluated?
There are no clear evaluation criteria yet. They function more like a qualitative cutoff; you do not receive points for them.
Which instruments do you have? How new are they? How long do your workflows take? All of these factors influence energy consumption. Given that every laboratory operates under unique circumstances, it is difficult to define what "better" should mean in a universal way. Therefore, there is no points-based system that would affect your research proposal.
You are likely on the safe side if you can include three to five convincing points per category. Of course, for some labs, it will be easy to list more than twenty.
Writing Style
I would advise you to stick to the same style you use throughout the rest of your proposal.
Whether "We plan to…" or a more neutral style "The identification of opportunities…", keep the style consistent.
To keep the report clear and concise, you can follow this structure:
First, mention the process, instrument, or item you are discussing.
Then name the action you want to take.
Next, include the expected quantification or improvement.
Finally, if there are any challenges or specifications, add them in a separate sentence.
You can repeat this structure under each heading for which you have content.
A switch from 50 mL polypropylene tubes to 15 mL glass tubes was made for all organoid digestion processing steps for flow cytometry analysis, saving about 50 tubes per week. Glass tubes are rinsed and washed in a dishwasher.
Plug-in timers for instruments were installed for PCR cycles, ovens, heating blocks, and centrifuges to automatically turn instruments off after 11 PM.
Pro tip: You can very well include one or two sentences explaining how you plan to implement change and which challenges you foresee.
Again, the point is not to bring your lab to a net-zero footprint immediately. The goal is to show that you are on the path toward implementing sustainability and applying the available knowledge.
Applying the Knowledge
Without doubt, I would advise you to read the documentation for these changes yourself.
While in most cases, there are only a few pages you need to read, these documents are often written by non-experts.
The DFG (Germany) and FWF (Austria) guidelines are only 2 and 4 pages long, respectively. Most of the content is presented in bullet points, so you should be able to review them in less than 5 minutes.
That is why some points feel too broad or poorly ordered, some suggested actions may not apply to you, and several documents may exist at the same time.
My tip: do not become too concerned if something seems overwhelming at first. In the end, learning about sustainability here will make it much easier for you to digest them.
In the end, reporting requirements were developed and tested by scientists and will be evaluated by scientists.
Still, sustainability is probably going to grow in importance. Use your time to prepare.
Even if you currently do not have to report, certification and quantified improvements might be coming. Don't sleep on it!
How We Feel Today
If you have a wish or a question, feel free to reply to this Email. Otherwise, wish you a beautiful week! See you again on the 11th : )
Edited by Patrick Penndorf Connection@ReAdvance.com Lutherstraße 159, 07743, Jena, Thuringia, Germany Data Protection & Impressum If you think we do a bad job: Unsubscribe
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