Labs initiatives

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https://www.cesbio.cnrs.fr/le-cesbio/developpement-soutenable

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The IRAP’s Environment Commission was created in February 2019 by the IRAP’s director as a response to the staff’s request to implement measures in order to reduce the environmental impact of its activities.

The aim of the Commission is to identify and implement strategies, so that the IRAP can conform to IPCC’s recommendations to limit climate change to 1.5°C, which means reducing its Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions by 45% by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.

The current Commission comprises PhD students, researchers and technical and administrative service employees who have volunteered to participate in the Commission’s initial activities.

The Commission falls under the jurisdiction of the IRAP Director. A Commission representative participates in the Laboratory Council as a non-voting member.

Actual members of the Commission

* represent IRAP at the OMP’s Environment Commission / ** represent IRAP in the CNRS Sustainable Development referents’ network

Contact the Commission : comecolo@irap.omp.eu

Process of environmental transition :

Since 2019, the Commission has started focusing on GHG assessments. The first one was made in 2021 (for 2019), (https://www.irap.omp.eu/2022/11/quelle-transition-pour-la-recherche-en-astronomie-lecons-du-bilan-carbone-complet-dun-institut/), and was updated in 2023.

Thanks to those results, the Commission was able to think of concrete measures to reduce IRAP’s GHG emissions. In December 2023, the Laboratory Council set a target of reducing GHG emissions by 7% each year until 2030 compared to 2019 levels.  IRAP is developing an environmental footprint reduction plan to enable its efforts to be more structured. To this end, it took on an environmental transition officer.

 Moreover, the laboratory also made an environmental chart (https://labo.obs-mip.fr/comecolo/chartes-environnementales/).

Making of the environmental footprint reduction plan

Toward more environmental friendly projects

IRAP’s process also aims to reduce the environmental impact of its projects. The first step in achieving this is to improve knowledge of those impacts.

To achieve this, several IRAP researchers and engineers conducted Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) on various projects, both in space and on Earth. These assessments were carried out either internally through internships or with the help of specialised consulting engineers.

• D. Barret et al., Life Cycle Assessment of the Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit (https://arxiv.org/pdf/2404.15122)
• G. dos Santos Ilha, M. Boix, J. Knödlseder, P. Garnier et al., Assessment of the environmental impacts of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Mid-Sized Telescope (https://arxiv.org/pdf/2406.17589)

LAERO’s Environment Commission was created in 2019 during the elaboration of the new direction project, and started its activities in 2020 in order to allow the laboratory to put gradually in place processes to reduce its activities environmental impact.

The aim of the Commission is to identify and implement strategies, so that the LAERO can conform to IPCC’s recommendations to limit climate change to 1.5°C, which means reducing its Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions by 45% by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. It elaborated environmental charters of the laboratory and its employees, which were voted during a general meeting in the beginning of 2021.It establishes LAERO’s GHG assessment, updates it regularly, and organises actions to raise its employees’ awareness. It also aims at reducing laboratory waste, saving energy, implementing digital sobriety, and much more.

The Commission is made up of PhD students, researchers, post-doctoral researchers, and research support staff.

Contact the Commission : eco-comm@aero.obs-mip.fr

The Commission «LEGOS eco-responsable» initiated its first actions back in 2019, with the making of cups stamped by the logo of the laboratory. Quickly, glasses and water bottles were made to complete its kit for drinking without plastic. These first actions were meaningful for the LEGOS, as plastics are taking too long to disintegrate in oceans, lakes, rivers or ice they study.

Since 2021, the Commission has grown stronger, with around twenty motivated individuals setting the goal of reducing the laboratory’s environmental impact. A crucial step was taken in 2021 when we conducted a GHG assessment of our activities. This assessment will be linked to actions to raise awareness of the importance of reducing our GHG emissions among all employees.

The Commission is made up of PhD students, researchers, post-doctoral researchers, and research support staff.

Contact the Commission : eco-comm@legos.obs-mip.fr.

The laboratory’s sustainable path process

In November 2023, le manifeste pour une trajectoire durable du LEGOS passed with 93% of the vote.

Since then, the Laboratory’s Comm-éco team has been working on proposals to achieve the goal set out in this manifesto: reducing its GHG emissions by 43% by 2030.

In June 2024, the laboratory was consulted to give everyone the opportunity to express their views on these proposals and suggest new ideas. Employees (including PhD students, research support staff and researchers) were invited to a meeting, during which the 2019 carbon assessment was reviewed and various proposals were presented and discussed. In the meantime, posters were put up in the LEGOS cafeteria, with a free speech area. For those which were not in Toulouse, propositions were sent by mail.

All the proposals and outcomes of these meetings were presented at the general meeting on 1 July 2024. A final consultation was conducted online from 2nd to 5th July.

After this concertation, a new phase of the “trajectoire durable” process begun, with the organization of work group in autumn 2024 to define how to implement some of the propositions.