To reduce science’s carbon footprint, researchers in France reinvent work practices

From ScienceMag:

Since 2019, the Institute of Biology and Chemistry of Proteins (IBCP) in Lyon, France, has retrofitted the building for greater energy efficiency, raised freezers’ temperatures 10°C, and reduced the need for autoclaving by 1 month’s worth of cycles per year. The institute increasingly orders consumables in bulk, recycles polystyrene packaging, and gets small lab equipment repaired rather than replaced. Every year it also organizes a contest for researchers to clean out their freezers so it doesn’t have to buy new ones. Thanks to these efforts and more, IBCP reduced its carbon footprint by about 13% between 2019 and 2023, though it has seen a recent spike because of new teams’ arrivals. And most of these changes have been spurred by a dozen volunteer scientists concerned about the environmental impact of their work.

These grassroots efforts are part of a larger movement across France. At its forefront is Labos 1point5, a collective of some 600 researchers who believe science should lead by example when it comes to reducing society’s carbon footprint. Pressure for change is also coming from above, with the French government in recent years requiring all universities and research organizations to prepare a road map for curbing their greenhouse gas emissions by 2% to 5% annually—and recognize researchers working on reducing science’s carbon footprint. “The whole system really needs to change,” says IBCP researcher and Labos 1point5 member Sandrine Vadon Le Goff.

As Labos 1point5 guides participating departments and laboratories toward greater carbon frugality, it’s creating a national experiment into what works—and the potential trade-offs. Any moves that might impact productivity, for example, can create pronounced tensions for those earlier in their careers, who face intense pressure to generate traditionally valued research outputs to establish themselves. “Young researchers are both particularly interested [in climate change action] and particularly vulnerable,” says André Estevez-Torres, a biophysicist–turned–sustainability scientist at the University of Lille who leads the Labos 1point5 research network. Amid practical on-the-ground measures, he adds, the real progress lies in the scientific community starting to think about and discuss these issues.

Among other efforts, the collective has developed a free online tool that any French researcher can use to compute their lab’s carbon footprint; they are currently working on an international version to be released in 2026. To date, more than half of France’s 2000 research departments have voluntarily used the tool for several years in a row, Estevez-Torres says. Harnessing these data, Estevez-Torres and his colleagues calculate that more than half of the carbon footprint of most French research laboratories comes from manufacturing, transport, and technical services associated with lab supplies and equipment—far above other common considerations such as traveling to conferences, commuting to work, and heating buildings.With a snapshot of their lab’s footprint in hand, researchers can use another tool provided by Labos 1point5 to simulate the impact of reduction scenarios. Almost 7 years into its existence, Labos 1point5 has prompted more than 800 simulations to be run across France, with the most tested measures being buying less material, extending the life span of computer hardware, and replacing airline flights to close locations with train journeys. A couple years ago, Labos 1point5 also launched a network and online platform for labs to share their implementation progress. To date, 90 laboratories have reported putting in place 346 emission-curbing initiatives including recycling plastic waste, defaulting to vegetarian buffets, and reducing travel.

Although in principle many researchers agree with reducing emissions, lab discussions can run into a host of practical and financial issues, as well as sensitive workforce and scientific considerations, and even philosophical and political ramifications. For example, replacing disposable plastic consumables with glassware begs the question of whether there will be funding to hire someone to wash it, Vadon Le Goff says. And although certain single-use consumables can be reused, many scientists worry adjusting long-standing protocols could affect results.

Lab and department heads can also be recalcitrant, fearing tensions among team members about which activities should be prioritized or restrictions in pursuing quality research, says population geneticist Audrey Sabbagh, an associate professor at Paris City University who joined Labos 1point5 in its early days. She advocates for a change in perspective. “Can we consider research that is not ethical from an environmental point of view to be excellent?” she asks. “It makes us rethink what quality research is.”

Future goals for Labos 1point5, which is preparing an application for a new, 5-year round of research funding next year, include shedding light on the structural and psychological roadblocks to labs taking bolder action. For example, labs could consider the broader societal impact of their research, intentionally slowing down the production pace of some research to spread its carbon footprint over several years or favoring research topics that contribute more directly to solving the current socioecological crises, says Mathieu Bouffard, a temporary lecturer in planetary science at Nantes University who created a group for young researchers within Labos 1point5.

Even without going that far, engaging in efforts to make science more sustainable can carry some risks for early-career researchers. Some institutions have created new positions in sustainable science, but opportunities remain few and far between. Bouffard investigates his field’s environmental impact in side projects, but he is unsure how valued his interdisciplinarity will ultimately be. “Will this work against me or in my favor? It’s not easy to say.” He also recognizes other trade-offs. “All the time that we are going to spend doing something else than research [such as climate advocacy] means getting less publications.”

For many of the scientists involved, the grassroots movement has helped reduce their discomfort with the environmental costs of pursuing their research by adopting greener practices, says Antoine Hardy, a sociologist at the Center for the Sociology of Innovation in Paris who studied the unfolding of the Labos 1point5 movement for his doctoral work. But the professional pressure is such that it can be difficult for early-career researchers to join Labos 1point5, he notes. Today, young researchers remain few among the collective and participating lab volunteers, despite more than 1300 signing an open letter supporting the group’s vision and some 4500 doctoral students participating in its online trainings.

Advocating for changes that your colleagues may not necessarily welcome can put you in a vulnerable position, says astrophysics postdoc and Labos 1point5 member Jack Berat. Apart from needing the approval of their supervisors to get involved, “we cannot commit to the transformation of the research group” when working on a short-term contract.

Equity is another consideration Labos 1point5 highlights to participating labs. For example, some labs have implemented carbon quotas for travel but exempted junior researchers, recognizing the importance of having in-person interactions as they are establishing their careers, Sabbagh says. “It is when we are young researchers that we most need to travel to engage in collaborations and make ourselves visible.”

Within individual labs, progress will likely require iterative experimentation. IBCP, for example, has started to run participative workshops so people can “present their problems and their obstacles,” says IBCP research engineer and Labos 1point5 member Virginie Gueguen-Chaignon. “It allows us to … arrive at imperfect proposals, and then we improve them little by little.”

Read More