Encouraging sustainable research practices
The European Commission is committed to addressing our climate, environmental and biodiversity challenges, which also arise in the world of research.
The MSCA Green Charter encourages researchers, research managers, research groups, organisations and consortia participating in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions to consider the environmental impact of their practices throughout the life-cycle of their projects.
The charter and its guidance material offer concrete recommendations to help them plan and implement their projects sustainably, without compromising scientific excellence nor their freedom to choose what to investigate.
Guiding principles and recommendations
MSCA participants are expected to explain the actions they are taking to address the sustainability of their research projects in their proposals and at final reporting stage.
Sustainability can play a role as an additional criterion in the evaluation of ex-aequo proposals.
To help participants better understand how they can integrate sustainability concerns into projects in practice, the charter and its supporting material offer practical recommendations covering topics such as
- travel, events and meetings
- resource-intensive research settings
- hardware, software and data usage
- facilities, infrastructure and procurement.
While the relevance of the charter’s principles and recommendations may vary depending on the MSCA participants and projects, the guidance documents are there to help everyone find the resources they need depending on their own situation.