News about our sustainability initiatives
Our latest sustainability news is featured below and you can stay up to date by following us on X, Mastodon, Bluesky and LinkedIn, and/or by registering for email updates.
February 2025 – How to make labs more sustainable: procurement in labs
In this blog series about how to make labs more sustainable, Jeroen Dobbelaere talks about the environmental impact that procurement causes and what we can do about it.
February 2025 – How to make labs more sustainable: equipment
We continue our blog series on how to integrate sustainability into biology labs with a focus on equipment. Check out Jeroen’s insight into how we currently use equipment and what we can do to minimise our environmental impact.
January 2025 – How to make labs more sustainable: energy use in labs
Diving deeper into the core of the issue, Jeroen Dobbelaere discusses the main carbon footprint sources linked to energy usage within a lab. In this blog, he is also exploring possible solutions to minimise them and manage energy usage in a more efficient way.
January 2025 – Grants awarded to organisers of 22 events in nine countries
Grants were awarded to organisers of the following events in Argentina, Brazil, France, Hungary, India, Portugal, Spain, the UK and the USA.
See funded events | Learn more about our Fund for Innovations in Sustainable Conferencing
December 2024 – How to make labs more sustainable: introducing sustainability in academia
Academic research brings about groundbreaking discoveries, but many of these come with the cost of a large carbon footprint. Jeroen Dobbelaere shares his insight into what the main drivers of environmental impact within academia are and where to start mitigating them.
December 2024 – How to make labs more sustainable: about the author Jeroen Dobbelaere
Welcome to our latest series of blogs about the role of sustainability in academia and how biologists can make their labs greener. Jeroen Dobbelaere, one of the newest members of our Sustainability Committee, will be a guest author for this series, where he will share his knowledge and experience on what the main sources of carbon footprint are in a lab and how to tackle them.
September 2024 – One year review: the present and future of organising sustainable academic events
After one year of improving the sustainability strategy of multiple academic events, our Sustainable Conferencing and Communications Officer reviews on what it means to make academic events sustainable. She discusses how to build a sustainable strategy for events by making the most of the resources we have now while keeping an eye on the emerging technologies of tomorrow.
July 2024 – Get an inside look into a successful, sustainable conference
We interviewed Chrissy Hammond who recently ran the British Society for Matrix Biology (BSMB) meeting from April 2024 with the help of the Fund for Innovations in Sustainable Conferencing. We met with many of the stakeholders involved in the organisation process who contributed to making this a successful green event. This article covers some great ideas and examples that should provide lots of help for anyone looking to run their own sustainable workshop or meeting.
June 2024 – Inclusion, diversity and social sustainability at meetings
The social side of sustainability is often overlooked when compared with environmental impacts. Social contribution and environmental actions are both equally important in the fight against climate change. Check out our latest tips on how to include more practices that support socially responsible goals of sustainability when planning an academic event.
May 2024 – Grants awarded to organisers of 13 events in nine countries
Grants were awarded to organisers of the following events in Argentina, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Portugal, the UK and the USA.
See funded events | Learn more about our Fund for Innovations in Sustainable Conferencing
April 2024 – Sustainable menus at events: nurturing with less impact (part 2)
Creating a sustainable menu for your event can sometimes be challenging. In this blog, we are exploring more tips on how to make sure that what you put on the plate is supporting environmental and social goals.
March 2024 – Grants awarded to organisers of 24 events in 13 countries
Grants were awarded to organisers of the following events in Argentina, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the USA.
See funded events | Learn more about our Fund for Innovations in Sustainable Conferencing
March 2024 – Fund for Innovations in Sustainable Conferencing – new name, but same support
For 2024 The Company of Biologists’ made the decision to rename and relaunch our Sustainable Conferencing Grants – going forward the scheme is now the Fund for Innovations in Sustainable conferencing. This change is to highlight our enthusiasm for supporting creative ideas that can transform the way that we organise scientific meetings. To find out more about what innovation in sustainable conferencing looks like, we spoke to Sally Lowell who recently organised a multi-hub event over three different locations, to learn more about how the event went.
January 2024 – Our plans for sustainable Workshops in 2024
While the threats of climate change continue to grow, The Company of Biologists are committed to making our own Workshops more sustainable. Throughout 2023 we have made efforts to track and reduce the carbon impact of our in person events. We will reinforce this strategy into 2024 and continue to explore new and innovative ideas that can help us make our events more sustainable this year and beyond.
December 2023 – Workshops in 2023: our sustainability journey
One of the event teams objectives for 2023 was to try and actively reduce the carbon footprint of our scientific Workshops which are held in the UK. The goal was to tackle this in a number of ways including looking at the sustainability of venues we used.
November 2023 – Sustainable Conferencing Grants awarded to organisers of 20 events in 13 countries
Sustainable Conferencing Grants were awarded to organisers of events in Austria, Azerbaijan, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.
See funded events | Learn more about Sustainable Conferencing Grants
November 2023 – Choosing sustainable venues: a guide
As a high part of the carbon footprint of an event comes from accommodation and catering, it is important to make conscious and well informed decisions decision about it. The sustainability of a venue can be understood by assessing the impact from multiple aspects of it.
October 2023 – Sustainable transport: one goal, more solutions working together
Travelling represents the largest carbon impact of an event. We interviewed Dr Serena Stanga, who was awarded a Sustainable Conferencing Grant, to find out more on how she found a solution that combined technology with alternative travelling for her symposium “In pursuit of healthy brain aging: unveiling the biology of novel age-related mechanisms leading to dementia”.
September 2023 – Sustainable menus at events: nurturing with less impact (part 1)
Event catering can account for 7-17% of event carbon footprint, but putting in practice sustainable strategies can significantly decrease its environmental impact.
September 2023 – Sustainable Conferencing Grants awarded to organisers of 11 events in eight countries
Sustainable Conferencing Grants were awarded to organisers of events in Argentina, Austria, Azerbaijan, Chile, France, India, Poland and the UK.
See funded events | Learn more about Sustainable Conferencing Grants
August 2023 – Sustainable Conferencing Grants awarded to organisers of two events in two countries
Sustainable Conferencing Grants were awarded to organisers of events in India and Poland.
See funded events | Learn more about Sustainable Conferencing Grants
July 2023 – The Forest of Biologists – an interview with Professor Steven Kelly
The Forest of Biologists was launched on 13 March 2023. We recently caught up with Steven Kelly, Professor of Plant Sciences at the University of Oxford and former Editor-in-Chief of Biology Open, who planted the seed for this project several years ago.
May 2023 – Sustainable Conferencing Grants awarded to organisers of ten events in eight countries
Sustainable Conferencing Grants were awarded to organisers of events in Argentina, Cameroon, Germany, Israel, Italy, Nepal, the UK and the USA.
See funded events | Learn more about Sustainable Conferencing Grants
March 2023 – Decolonising and Diversifying Biosciences Education: a focus on inclusivity and sustainability
A Sustainable Conferencing Grant was instrumental in allowing the organisers of this event to successfully run the symposium in a fully hybrid manner. It also allowed them to put inclusivity and sustainability at the forefront of the meeting’s organisation.
March 2023 – Our new bio-positive publishing initiative, The Forest of Biologists
We are excited to announce the launch of The Forest of Biologists, our new bio-positive publishing initiative that celebrates the contributions of authors and peer reviewers to our journals. For each published Research Article or Review article, a tree is planted in a UK forest. In addition, we are funding the restoration and preservation of ancient woodland and dedicating these trees to our peer reviewers. All trees are also represented in a virtual forest and, with each new piece of research, the forest grows.
March 2023 – Sustainable Conferencing Grants awarded to organisers of 17 events in 11 countries
Sustainable Conferencing Grants were awarded to organisers of events in Belgium, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Nigeria, Poland, Spain, the UK and the USA.
See funded events | Learn more about Sustainable Conferencing Grants
February 2023 – Funding sustainable travel to the British Neuroscience Association meeting
With the help of a Sustainable Conferencing Grant, the organisers of a British Neuroscience meeting in December 2022 were able to offer ‘Train over Plane’ travel grants. These grants reimbursed BNA members who chose to travel to the meeting by train, coach or carshare, rather than catching a plane.
December 2022 – Rethinking sustainability at the Cambridge Neuroscience Seminar
A Sustainable Conferencing Grant helped the organisers of the Cambridge Neuroscience Seminar in September 2022 to reduce the environmental impact of the meeting. The meeting was free of single-use plastics and attendees were particularly impressed by the chance to repurpose their poster as a tote bag.
November 2022 – Sustainable Conferencing Grants awarded to organisers of 12 events in eight countries
Sustainable Conferencing Grants were awarded to organisers of events in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Mexico, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.
See funded events | Learn more about Sustainable Conferencing Grants
November 2022 – The first Student Conference of Plant Biology organised “by students for students” and respecting the environment
A Sustainable Conferencing Grant helped to enable a unique bottom-to-top scientific event focusing on sustainability and environmental-friendly measures.
November 2022 – The Indian C. elegans Meeting goes green
The organisers of this event used a Sustainable Conferencing Grant to reduce the environmental impact of their event.
November 2022 – How BraYn 2022 used their Sustainable Conferencing Grant
The organisers of this event used a Sustainable Conferencing Grant to help fund access to hybrid conferencing software and various other sustainability touches.
September 2022 – Sustainable Conferencing Grants awarded to organisers of six events in four countries
Sustainable Conferencing Grants were awarded to organisers of events in the Cameroon, Germany, Italy and the UK.
See funded events | Learn more about Sustainable Conferencing Grants
June 2022 – Sustainable Conferencing Grants awarded to organisers of 12 events in nine countries
Sustainable Conferencing Grants were awarded to organisers of events in Brazil, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, South Africa, Spain and the UK.
See funded events | Learn more about Sustainable Conferencing Grants
March 2022 – Sustainable Conferencing Grants awarded to organisers of 13 events in eight countries
Sustainable Conferencing Grants were awarded to organisers of events in Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Slovenia, Spain and the UK.
See funded events | Learn more about Sustainable Conferencing Grants
December 2021 – Sustainable Conferencing Grants awarded to organisers of 22 events in nine countries
Sustainable Conferencing Grants were awarded to organisers of events in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA.
See funded events | Learn more about Sustainable Conferencing Grants
