Funding Connections

Currently, the majority of research funding from U.S. granting bodies lacks expectations for environmental sustainability. If the money funding research encouraged efficiency and environmental sustainability in the way research is conducted, that could drive swifter market shifts, innovation and solution development, not just for equipment, but sustainable options for single-use plastics, single-use gloves and hazardous chemical use in research processes.  It could also lead to shifts in systems within the research community that presently contribute to unnecessary duplication of equipment, inefficient use of laboratory space and larger than necessary contributions to the climate crisis.  **  

• If you are interested in exploring this topic more, check out: 
  • Article in Royal Chemistry Society Sustainability Journal titled “The relevance of lab sustainability practices” written by Ben Feringa (a 2016 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry) and his colleagues from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
  • Wellcome Trust 2023 report on "Advancing Environmentally Sustainable Health Research." 
  • Royal Society of Chemistry 2021 Sustainable laboratories report.

• Incorporate actions for resource efficiency and environmental sustainability into grant applications, even before funding bodies require it. The I2SL Bringing Efficiency to Research Grants webpage can be a source of ideas. In addition to including sustainable actions or resource efficiency in the way that the proposed research will be conducted, other sections of grant proposals to consider are biosketches, NSF broader impacts and training plans.    
• Researchers can also show their support by adding their name to the Million Advocates for Sustainable Science (MASS) letter-signing effort launched by the nonprofits International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) and My Green Lab. 

In Europe:

• Three funding bodies already have established requirements, including the Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK and DFG in Germany.
• In the UK, the Concordat for Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice was published in April 2024, committing to “a shared ambition for the UK to continue delivering cutting-edge research, but in a more environmentally responsible and sustainable way.” Four UK funding bodies have signed (Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and UK Research & Innovation (UKRI, which represents nine different UK funding councils) as well as 17 UK research institutions and universities. The NIHR funding body announced a “£25m funding call to decarbonise the health and social care system.”
• In Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is currently piloting Sustainable Laboratory Certification with grantees with intentions to expand, as described in the SFI Climate Action Strategy.
• Two efforts are bringing funding bodies together from across Europe, including:  
  • A 2024 workshop by EMBO, which included participation by 12 European funding bodies.
  • The Science Europe Greening Research priority, where one aspect of the effort was a webinar series including involvement by numerous European funding bodies (summarized in this report).   

In the U.S.:

• Health and Human Services (HHS), which is one world’s largest funding bodies, has a priority action #3 within its HHS Climate Action Plan to green grants. 

Globally:

• At the May 2024 Global Research Council (GRC) annual meeting, leaders of funding bodies around the world adopted a Statement of Principles of Sustainable Research which includes a priority area focused on “making research itself sustainable".