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  1. Queen Mary University of London
  2. About us
  3. Sustainability
  4. Sustainable Campus
  5. Researching Sustainably
  6. Research Funder Requirements

Research Funder Requirements

In addition to aligning with Queen Mary’s sustainable goal and strategy, ensuring you have taken every possible step to make your research as sustainable as possible is becoming a requirement for research funders. 

Many funders are signatories of Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice (the Concordat). You will find below the sustainability requirements for Queen Mary’s main funders, please check carefully if they will apply to you before submitting funding applications. 

The Wellcome Trust has an environmental sustainability funding policy. They expect researchers they fund to design their research in the most sustainable way they can access, and for this to be detailed in the grant application, along with associated costs. This includes taking into account the environmental sustainability of their project-related purchases. 

The detailed requirements can be found on their website. 

Cancer UK offers a downloadable version of their environmental sustainability policy. 

This policy includes requirement for laboratory sustainability certifications, commitment to the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle scheme, and strong justification for any costs associated with the research, with expectations to purchase sustainable version of any necessary equipment, and priority given to repair of hardware where possible.

The NIHR has developed Carbon Reduction Guidelines to advise researchers on how to reduce waste without compromising on the validity and reliability of their research. 

These guidelines are available on their website. 

UKRI has committed to be a driving agent for positive environmental changes and has helped to co-develop the Concordat. While they currently do not have any specific policy regarding environmentally sustainable research, their standard T&C for Grant Guidance include consideration to environmental impact across all activities and the individual research council may have additional requirements or information, e.g. Natural Environment Research Council Environmental policy. 

The Leverhulme Trust currently does not appear to have specific requirements for applicants around sustainability. 

However, they do require explicit justification for any equipment costs and encourage applicants to consider the environmental impact of their travel and possible alternatives. Additional requirements may apply to individual schemes and grants. 

Other funders may have requirements regarding sustainable research. In addition to following Queen Mary’s sustainability recommendations, we recommend carefully checking the terms and conditions of any grant you are applying to. 

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