Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability is a shared responsibility across the research community. As a distributed European research infrastructure supporting access to advanced biological and biomedical imaging technologies, Euro-BioImaging recognises its responsibility to contribute to a more sustainable, resource-efficient and environmentally responsible research ecosystem.
Our commitment to a more sustainable research infrastructure
Our Environmental Sustainability Strategy establishes our commitment to integrating environmental sustainability into the way Euro-BioImaging supports research, develops its community and operates as a research infrastructure. Our strategy is built around three complementary areas of action:
Supporting research for a more sustainable future
Advanced imaging technologies can provide critical insights into complex biological and environmental processes, from the molecular and cellular level to organisms, ecosystems and landscapes. They can help researchers understand biological responses to environmental change, monitor biodiversity, underpin the development of more sustainable agricultural practices, and investigate interactions between organisms and their environments.
Euro-BioImaging is committed to enabling research and technology development that contributes to environmental sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By providing access to advanced imaging technologies, expertise and research infrastructure across different projects such as AgroSERV (101058020), ANERIS (101094924), PROSPER (101181400), RE-IMAGINE-CROPS (101187260) and the Agroecology Partnership (101132349), we support researchers across a broad range of scientific disciplines, including plant and agricultural sciences, ecology and biodiversity, marine and environmental sciences, microbiology, environmental biotechnology, and the study of organism–environment interactions.
Our engagement contributes particularly to sustainability goals related to:
Through this engagement, Euro-BioImaging seeks to strengthen the role of advanced imaging as an enabling technology for environmental sustainability and for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Advancing more sustainable and accessible training and community activities
Training, knowledge exchange and community building are essential parts of a research infrastructure. At the same time, they can involve significant travel, energy use and other environmental impacts.
Euro-BioImaging is committed to developing more sustainable models for training and community activities, while maintaining the scientific quality, interaction and networking that make these activities valuable. We are therefore exploring and implementing approaches that:
Our objective is to develop training and community models that are environmentally responsible, accessible and scientifically effective.
Sustainability is therefore considered not only in terms of reducing emissions, but also in terms of creating a more inclusive and efficient European research community.
Enabling more sustainable imaging facilities
The operation of imaging facilities can involve substantial energy and resource consumption through instrumentation, computing, cooling, laboratory infrastructure, consumables and equipment management. Euro-BioImaging is committed to supporting its Nodes in their efforts to improve the environmental sustainability of their facilities and operations.
A central element of our strategy is to understand, connect and support sustainability efforts across the Euro-BioImaging community. We are working to:
Understand - Map sustainability practices, initiatives and challenges across our Nodes to establish a better understanding of the current sustainability landscape within the Euro-BioImaging community.
Connect and share - Create opportunities for facilities to exchange experiences, practical solutions, technologies and good practices through our Sustainability and Remote Access Expert Group Meeting and related community events and workshops.
Guide - Develop recommendations, skills and resources that can help imaging facilities identify realistic opportunities for reducing their environmental impact.
Transform - Encourage practical changes in facility operations, including improvements in energy efficiency, Green IT and computing practices, equipment use, resource management and waste reduction.
From commitment to action
Our Environmental Sustainability Strategy represents a long-term commitment to integrating sustainability into the development and operation of Euro-BioImaging.
We recognise that improving the environmental sustainability of a distributed research infrastructure is a continuous process. It requires awareness, evidence, collaboration, skills, technological innovation and, ultimately, changes in everyday practices across our community.
European funding is essential to the continuity, development and effective implementation of this strategy. EU-funded projects such as eRImote (101057557), EVOLVE (101130986) and THRIVE (101285003) provide important opportunities to develop, test and implement sustainability-related approaches, build skills and tools, and translate our strategic objectives into practical activities across the Euro-BioImaging community. Furthermore, through projects such as ESG4Stars (101290798), Euro-BioImaging also contributes to developing more sustainable research computing practices. Sustained access to European funding is therefore an important enabler for maintaining the momentum and long-term impact of our environmental sustainability efforts.
Through this approach, Euro-BioImaging aims to make environmental sustainability an integral and lasting part of its identity as a European research infrastructure, while contributing to the broader transition towards a more sustainable European research and innovation ecosystem.
Our ambition is to enable excellent science while contributing to a more sustainable European research ecosystem.