The research community can only tackle the huge challenges posed by climate change by working together to embed sustainability at the very heart of higher education research and innovation.
-Alison Robinson, NERC Deputy Executive Chair in the UK
How to Participate?
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Who Should Participate?
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Why Participate?
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Include information in grant proposals on the suggested topics below about how you and/or your research institution are incorporating efficiency actions and sustainability into your research program.
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Individuals at research institutions that can directly incorporate language into grant proposals or that can encourage others to take that action, such as scientists, research administrators, sustainability professionals, Vice Chancellors or Provosts of Research, and other university leadership.
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Incorporating language now, as an early adopter, may help your proposal stand out from others, especially in the current, highly competitive funding environment in the US. It also demonstrates to research sponsors that scientists and research institutions support for the idea of connecting efficiency and sustainability to funding of research.
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Where to Participate:
There are numerous locations in grant proposals where efficiency and sustainability actions could voluntarily be included. Below are some ideas where scientists report that they typically have the space to incorporate additional content.
Broader Impacts, Resource/Facilities, and Budget Justification Sections
Biosketches
Post-doctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan
Fellowship Applications
Broader Impacts, Resource/Facilities, and Budget Justification Sections
- "Broader Impacts" section of NSF proposals
- "Budget Justification" sections
- "Resources and Environment" and/or "Resource Sharing Plans" sections of NIH proposals
- "Facilities and Other Resources" sections found in many agency proposals (section names may vary between agencies)
Biosketches
- Within bio sections or biosketches, the opportunity exists for researchers to explain the culture of efficiency and sustainability that they will bring to the research community and the influence that ethical culture will have on others including students in training to be the next generation of scientists. Information on biosketches for two granting agencies can be found these pages: NIH and NSF.
Post-doctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan
- NSF requires post-doctoral mentoring plans for grant proposals that include funding requests for post-doctorates. Other agencies may have similar requirements.
- Mentoring plans provides an opportunity to incorporate ethical topics like sustainability.
Fellowship Applications
- Graduate students and post-docs can demonstrate the culture of efficiency and sustainability in their applications for various fellowship opportunities which can help set their applications apart from others.
- For example:
- NSF graduate research fellowships
- Efficiency actions can be included in not only the broader impacts section of the proposed research but also in the biosketch section.
- NIH post-doctoral and other fellowships
- NSF graduate research fellowships
Help Us Spread the Word!
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Here is a poster you can use at your research institution to spread the word about the BETR Grants efforts.
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Who's Committed?
- Through a collaboration of the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Research and their Green Labs Program (LabRATS), the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) is already including standardized language in their grant proposals to describe equipment sharing and efforts to conserve energy, water, and material resources.
- Through collaboration between the Office of Contracts and Grants and the CU Green Labs Program at the University of Colorado Boulder, standardized language (below) has been developed that faculty can choose to incorporate in grant proposals on efficiency and sustainability efforts connected with the CU Green Labs Program.
- The Green Labs Program aids scientists and the CU Boulder campus with efficiency in research labs for the benefit of maximizing the impact of sponsor research dollars, minimizing overhead costs necessary to support research, and reducing the environmental and social footprint of laboratory research. Through scientist engagement, collaboration, and other means the program is reducing equipment duplication on campus and improving scientist access to equipment resources by fostering a cultural shift towards more managed, shared equipment resources and by contributing to improvements on campus that enable connections between scientists with similar equipment needs and bolster the number of pieces of equipment available for sharing. When equipment purchases are necessary, the program offers support with the selection of energy and water efficient research equipment (where possible) to help keep campus utility usage and related infrastructure needs down. The program also provides numerous other benefits such as recycling opportunities to divert lab specific waste from the landfill and education about efficient laboratory operations/processes. Overall the program strives to connect the need for care of planet and people with the need to accomplish more within existing research and university budgets.
- The Green Labs Program aids scientists and the CU Boulder campus with efficiency in research labs for the benefit of maximizing the impact of sponsor research dollars, minimizing overhead costs necessary to support research, and reducing the environmental and social footprint of laboratory research. Through scientist engagement, collaboration, and other means the program is reducing equipment duplication on campus and improving scientist access to equipment resources by fostering a cultural shift towards more managed, shared equipment resources and by contributing to improvements on campus that enable connections between scientists with similar equipment needs and bolster the number of pieces of equipment available for sharing. When equipment purchases are necessary, the program offers support with the selection of energy and water efficient research equipment (where possible) to help keep campus utility usage and related infrastructure needs down. The program also provides numerous other benefits such as recycling opportunities to divert lab specific waste from the landfill and education about efficient laboratory operations/processes. Overall the program strives to connect the need for care of planet and people with the need to accomplish more within existing research and university budgets.
Join the Million Advocates for Sustainable Science Campaign!
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Together, My Green Lab and the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) have created the Million Advocates for Sustainable Science Letter campaign. This campaign has the goal of issuing a challenge to science funders to encourage sustainability in research. Scientists and sustainability advocates are invited to help push for change by joining the campaign by signing the pledge. By signing this letter, you can help transform the way science funding organizations set expectations for efficiency, resiliency, and sustainability in the way scientific research is conducted.
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