Sustainability

Negative impact of anthropogenic activities

Our engagement in favour of sustainability is motivated by the scientific evidence that our modern way of living has a negative impact on the climate and environment. In the words of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCCrep]:

1. Human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming, with global surface temperature reaching 1.1°C above 1850-1900 in 2011-2020. Global greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase, with unequal historical and ongoing contributions arising from unsustainable energy use, land use, and land-use change, lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production across regions, between and within countries, and among individuals (high confidence).
2. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred. Human-caused climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. This has led to widespread adverse impacts and related losses and damages to nature and people (high confidence). Vulnerable communities that have historically contributed the least to current climate change are disproportionately affected (high confidence).

We thus feel that it is crucial to evaluate all possible actions to reduce and reverse the negative impact of anthropogenic activities on the planet, including scientific research. All contributions are indeed important, whether as individuals or through collective action. As scientists, we feel it is our responsibility to lead the change and set an example for others.

The environmental impact of scientific activities and possible actions

The harmful effects of global warming, pollution and destruction of ecosystems and environments, and indiscriminate exploitation of resources are becoming more and more evident every day on both individuals and societies. Scientific research is part of this and can have negative effects in several ways, both in the lab and outside. However, we are often unaware of the impact of our research activities or feel like we cannot change established practices because of the lack of valid alternatives. Here, we collect information and useful ”tips and tricks” that can help us modify our habits. Everyone can contribute with small actions to make scientific research more sustainable.

Greenhouse gas emissions and what we can do

Our research activities are important to advance the knowledge and well-being of humankind as well as reduce the world’s carbon footprint as a whole through the development of greener technologies. On the other hand, a number of assessments indicate that the average per capita carbon footprint of a researcher is equivalent to or greater than an individual's footprint, i.e., 10 to 20 equivalent tons per year [1,2,3,4]. These findings should motivate us to reconsider our scientific habits and, step by step, decrease our contribution to carbon emissions. What can we, as individual researchers, do? Our direct engagement is relevant both in the laboratory and on trips, which represent the two largest shares of our impact.

Concerning travels, we first recommend using decision trees to evaluate which in-person meetings are really crucial and which can be replaced through online gatherings [5,6,7]. Action on travel is indeed largely in our own hands. We should evaluate the impact of attending every given meeting and consider new strategies for dissemination, learning, and networking. If networking is necessary to our activities, we should review how often we need to attend events to achieve our scientific goals and how we travel. We strongly recommend considering alternative methods of transport and replacing flights with other travelling means, such as train rides, at least for travel across Europe. Besides this, our diet, habits, and accommodation standards can all have a large impact on the overall sustainability of the trip. Below you find a set of inspiring guidelines that you can use to organise more climate-friendly trips. Additional recommendations for the organisation of events can be found in the Guidelines for sustainable travels and events.

General actions in the laboratory could include the rational use of buildings, the energy efficiency of their power supply and heating/air conditioning, etc. As these actions often depend on collective and institutional policies, our responsibility is to motivate the review and revision of these policies. There are, however, more direct actions that are totally under our control. We can decide to reduce the use and/or purchase of materials, tools, equipment, and infrastructure that take a high toll on resources, compatible with our scientific mission. We can decide to use refurbished, repaired, or second-hand scientific instruments and materials, as well as maintain and repair faulty equipment. Is it really necessary to purchase the latest piece of equipment or can the existing infrastructure do the same job? Can we share tools between different labs? Can we avoid nonreusable items and limit waste? These questions are highly relevant to research on magnetism and our use of scarce materials. For example, metals are heavily employed in any equipment, material, devices or applications related to magnetism. However, with the growing and competitive demand of metals for energy, mobility, and the digital world, the limited lifetime of many metals [8] and their price volatility [9] should be taken into account in research programs. More generally, in order to evaluate the impact and resilience of magnetism-related technology and applications, it would be worth developing efforts in life cycle assessment of research projects. When the purchase of instruments or services is unavoidable, we can select companies with proven sustainable lines of action or at least inquire about their engagement in more sustainable fabrication and procurement processes. A further action is donating functional but no longer required equipment to other research groups in need. There exist nonprofit organisations such as EquipSent that collect and ship used equipment, including equipment for research on magnetism, to low-income countries. Some private companies also specialise in the trade of used and refurbished equipment.

A nonexhaustive list of tools to assess the overall sustainability of research labs is provided here:

• https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2634-4505/ac84a4/pdf
• https://apps.labos1point5.org/
• https://www.mygreenlab.org/green-lab-certification.html

Waste production

Both in experimental research and at conferences, we produce a lot of waste that both consumes resources in production and can end up polluting the environment when not disposed of properly. In order to reduce this problem as much as possible, it is best to prevent waste production to begin with. Therefore, we encourage all researchers and event organisers to replace avoidable single-use materials and tools with reusable equivalents. Furthermore, waste separation and recycling should be implemented strictly. These actions can and should be taken both by individuals and by committees or associations that organise events and large-scale activities sponsored by EMA.

Useful links

• Sustainable accomodation
• Organization of sustainable travels:
  • rail.cc
  • egg.civil.auth.gr
  • flyingless toolbox
  • Glasgow University Guidance
• (Less polluting) flights

The policy and actions of EMA

EMA monitors the sustainability of the events that it directly sponsors, such as the Joint European Magnetic Symposia, JEMS, and the European School on Magnetism, ESM, as well as those supported by technical sponsorship. In evaluating bids for the organisation, we take into account criteria such as the venue (Can it be reached with a moderate carbon footprint?),
its premises (Have buildings adequate size? Can academic venues be used?), and practical organisation (heating system, waste, food and goody bags/giveaways). We consider the sustainability throughout the duration of the event, i.e., before, during, and after its occurrence, and conduct post-event evaluations.

Organisers should consider actions that can have an immediate and practical impact, such as the reduction of waste and greenhouse gases associated with the event, the (re)use of resources on site, and the implementation of digital infrastructure to allow for hybrid events with remote participation. This can be sought by identifying the sources of waste and emissions, proposing measures to address them, and monitoring the outcome for each event, as well as progress in the long run. The document Guidelines for Sustainable Events gathers practical recommendations. Organisers of events not related to the EMA may freely get inspiration from these guidelines.

Our working group

We have started our working group in 2025, which includes:

We welcome your proposals, suggestions, and comments. If you wish to participate actively in these actions, please get in touch with us through sustainability@magnetism.eu.

Documents and contact

• The Officer for Sustainability is in charge of developing and enforcing the actions on Sustainability, on behalf of EMA. If you have any ideas, suggestions, or comments in this regard or wish to actively participate, please do not hesitate to contact us at sustainability@magnetism.eu.
• Guidelines for Sustainable Events. These guidelines are part of the various aspects that should be addressed when making a bid to host an event supported by the EMA. They
  serve as support for organisers to implement a policy on the topic, in connection with the Officer for Sustainability.