Ecological transition: two days of exchanges between laboratories on both sides of the Rhine
Organised under the auspices of Eucor – The European Campus and focusing on ecological transition in research laboratories, these two cross-border exchange days brought together around twenty participants, first in Freiburg and then in Strasbourg.
How can a laboratory reduce the environmental footprint of its research activities? How can energy consumption be lowered? How can an organisation assess its carbon footprint? These were among the questions addressed by participants on 23 June in Freiburg and on 18 November in Strasbourg.
“The idea for the project emerged about a year ago,” explains Isabelle Schaller, co-organiser of the event on the Strasbourg side. “The exchange days were organised within the framework of Eucor’s strategic axis ‘Sustainability’, in cooperation with the Sustainable Development offices of the University of Strasbourg and the University of Freiburg. Initially, the project focused on these two universities, as strong cooperation already exists between them in this field, but the Strasbourg event was ultimately opened to staff from all five Eucor universities.”
Energy savings in Germany
In Freiburg, most of the presentations focused on energy savings. Faced with sharply rising costs over recent years, researchers at the University of Freiburg have implemented measures to reduce electricity consumption in their buildings. By adopting a usage-oriented approach, they succeeded in optimising energy consumption without carrying out building work. In particular, improved management of experiments in physics laboratories led to a significant reduction in costs.
Discussions also addressed the financing arrangements for these measures. Some projects were implemented through an innovative financial model: subsidies provided by the state of Baden-Württemberg are reimbursed by the laboratories through the energy savings they achieve.
Carbon footprint in France
In Strasbourg, German and Swiss researchers discovered the methods used by their French counterparts to calculate the carbon footprint of their research units. Emmanuelle Perret presented the approach taken at the Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory, Christelle Gruffaz that of the Molecular Genetics, Genomics and Microbiology Laboratory (GMGM), and Laurence Jouniaux that of the Strasbourg Institute of Earth and Environment (ITES).
“We are fortunate in France to have the 1point5* tool, which was developed by researchers specifically for laboratories,” notes Laurence Jouniaux, Research Director at ITES. “This tool is very comprehensive: it makes it possible, in particular, to assess emission factors related to purchases by directly uploading documents from the Sifac or Geslab (CNRS) software systems. It can also calculate greenhouse gas emissions linked to travel, depending on the modes of transport used.”
Drawing up a carbon footprint provides a baseline indicator to guide actions across different levers: purchasing, travel, food, etc. “There is a general awareness of climate issues in laboratories, but also a difficulty in taking responsibility at an individual and collective level. Changing practices is challenging,” observes Laurence Jouniaux. One of her contributions on 18 November focused on a participatory workshop conducted within her laboratory. Using the De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats method, concrete actions to reduce the carbon footprint were proposed, discussed and then voted on by laboratory members.
A first step laid
The overall assessment of these exchange days is positive. Each delegation left with concrete examples of good practices, even though their implementation may require adjustments. “The good practices for saving energy presented in Freiburg could be applied in our laboratories. However, at present we do not have access to consumption data for clean rooms in order to measure their impact. This is managed by the Directorate for Property and Buildings,” notes Laurence Jouniaux, who attended both events. “On their side, our German colleagues showed great interest in the 1point5 tool, as they do not have an equivalent. It could be adapted to their context so that they can use it in the future.”
“Thanks to this initiative, initial contacts have been established between scientific and administrative staff from the five Eucor universities,” says Isabelle Schaller with satisfaction. “These two days provide a first foundation for considering, in the longer term, the development of a cross-border network dedicated to ecological transition in research.”
* More about Labos 1point5: https://labos1point5.org/
by Edern Appéré, published in Savoir(s)