The CRBM is committed to significantly reducing its environmental footprint and participating in collective networks and initiatives to promote more sustainable research practices.
We encourage sharing knowledge with colleagues to foster a culture of sustainability within the laboratory.
We support proposing and implementing actions to reduce the environmental impact within teams and missions.
Priority Action Areas
Energy and Resource Sobriety
- Reduce electricity consumption by turning off non-essential equipment, lighting, and computers when not in use, and implementing programmed shutdown systems where possible.
- Gradually replace energy-intensive equipment (e.g., -80°C freezers, centrifuges) with more efficient alternatives.
- Optimize cold storage management:
- Develop sample management plans.
- Shut down unused equipment.
- Regularly defrost and organize freezers.
- Close redundant cold rooms.
- Where scientifically and technically feasible, raise freezer temperatures from -80°C to -70°C.
- Promote responsible water use (especially osmosis water) and reduce laboratory consumable waste (plastics, gloves, etc.) by:
- Minimizing waste.
- Installing water-saving devices (e.g., on taps, toilets).
- Reporting malfunctions (leaks, faulty equipment) promptly.
- Support building energy improvements (insulation, heating regulation, limited air conditioning, investments in low-energy solutions) in coordination with oversight bodies.
Purchasing, Consumption, and Equipment
The laboratory aims to reduce consumption of goods and extend equipment lifespan.
- Systematically question the necessity of purchases:
- Avoid buying if equipment/material is already available, repairable, shareable, or rentable.
- Promote resource sharing within or between units.
- Implement transition support systems:
- Shared stockrooms.
- Joint stock management.
- Coordination for mutualizing resources.
- Repair of scientific and IT equipment.
- Reduce single-use plastics by:
- Prioritizing glassware (where possible).
- Reusing plastics (washing and reassigning when compatible with protocols).
- Using adapted washing solutions (e.g., for 15–50 mL tubes).
Waste and Pollution Management
- Reduce waste at the source through better purchase planning (right-sizing orders, clearer needs assessment).
- Optimize experimental protocols by identifying steps where plastic use can be reduced or replaced with alternative methods.
- Maximize sorting and recycling where facilities exist (paper, cardboard, specific plastics, electronic equipment, IT waste, glass, etc.), while respecting biological safety constraints.
- Ensure rigorous management of chemical and hazardous waste to limit water, air, and soil pollution.
Digital Sobriety
- Limit IT equipment purchases to actual needs.
- Extend equipment lifespan through repair, reuse, and long warranties, and prioritize sustainable options when possible.
- Implement a data management plan:
- Distinguish between “hot” (active) and “cold” (archive) storage.
- Regularly clean up storage spaces and email inboxes.
- Archive only truly necessary data.
Travel and Mobility
- Prioritize low-emission transport modes:
- Choose trains over planes when feasible.
- Use public transport.
- Encourage virtual or hybrid conferences where possible.
- Offer train travel as the primary option for invited guests.
- For home-to-work and local travel, promote:
- Walking, cycling, public transport, and carpooling.
- Highlight existing support systems (e.g., subsidies, incentives).
