At EMBO, we strive to promote excellence in life sciences in line with the sustainable development goals set out in the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations. We try to integrate sustainability into everything we do, starting with three strategic priorities: fostering partnerships for sustainability, promoting sustainable excellence in the life sciences and shaping the future of scientific conferences.

Fostering partnerships and shaping policies

We foster multi-stakeholder partnerships with researchers and life science organizations to work together for sustainability. To shape policies, EMBO convened a meeting in May 2024 that brought together European funding agencies, research organizations and grassroot activists to discuss the role of funders in promoting sustainability. The Heidelberg Agreement on Environmental Sustainability in Research Funding is the outcome.

Promoting sustainable excellence in the life sciences

We are raising awareness of sustainability among all our EMBO members, staff and the life science community. This includes new projects to promote sustainability in research practices, such as the EMBO Lab Sustainability Award.

Shaping the future of conferencing

EMBO is conscious of the environmental impact of scientific courses and workshops. Besides funding virtual and hybrid events, EMBO has established a sustainability rating for individual conferences. EMBO is also analysing the greenhouse gas footprint of the workshops we fund with a view to proposing mitigation strategies relevant to all scientific conferences.