Sustainable research culture

Research at Sheffield tackles some of the most pressing challenges facing society - from climate change and energy systems to health, inequality, food, materials and the future of cities. To be credible on these issues, we also need to look carefully at the impact of our own research practices: how we use energy and materials, how much we travel, what we buy for our labs and fieldwork, and how we work with partners around the world.

A sustainable research culture is about more than individual projects. It is about the everyday norms, expectations and support that shape how research is planned, funded and delivered. That includes the choices we make about equipment and consumables, the design of experiments and fieldwork, the way we store and process data, and how often and why we travel for conferences, collaboration and impact activity. It is also about recognising the skills and leadership of technicians, professional services staff and postgraduate researchers who are often at the forefront of making labs and research groups more sustainable.

Environmental and financial sustainability go hand in hand. Much of our research income comes from charities, public bodies and other funders who are ultimately accountable to ordinary people, donors and taxpayers. We have a responsibility to ensure that every pound of research income is spent as effectively as possible, with minimal waste. Using energy, equipment, travel budgets and consumables wisely is not just good for the planet - it is part of being a responsible steward of the resources entrusted to us and helps ensure that more funding can go directly towards discovery and impact.

We are working to ensure that sustainability is considered early and consistently in the research lifecycle. This means building environmental thinking into funding applications and business cases, encouraging lower carbon ways of collaborating and sharing results, and providing tools to help research groups understand and reduce their impacts. We will support the use of frameworks such as sustainable lab guidance, digital best practice and more sustainable approaches to fieldwork, so that researchers can make informed choices without compromising scientific quality or integrity.

Culture change depends on recognition and support. We want sustainable ways of working to be seen as good research practice, not an optional extra. Over time, this will be reflected in the guidance we give to principal investigators, in training and development for researchers at all career stages, and in the way we celebrate and share examples of good practice across disciplines.

By taking this approach, we aim to build a research culture that continues to produce excellent, independent scholarship while using resources wisely, minimising harm to the environment and contributing positively to the transition to a more sustainable world.