Credit: SSI (Software Sustainability Network)
Issued on behalf of The University of Edinburgh’s Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) and the University of Cambridge.
A new sustainability certification scheme is allowing researchers to reduce the environmental impacts of their digital and computational research.
While laboratory certification schemes have long helped laboratory researchers to reduce their environmental impacts, up to now there has been no equivalent scheme for the rapidly growing field of computational research. The need for this was clear in a context where high performance computing and AI are playing an increasingly central role in modern research.
Background: The energy and environmental footprint of AI is increasingly a source of concern in the context of the climate emergency. On the research front, funders such as the Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK now require researchers to hold laboratory sustainability certifications to apply for funding.
Six teams from the UK and Europe have successfully completed the inaugural round of Bronze Certifications from the new Green DiSC certification scheme. The scheme, hosted by the Software Sustainability Institute, is the first free and open access certification scheme for research sustainability. It is designed to empower researchers and organisations to mitigate the environmental impacts of their computational research.
In this first round, the scheme recognised four research groups for embedding sustainability in their practices, and two support teams for facilitating sustainable research across their organisations. From cancer research and genomics to data science, for the first time, computational researchers have been able to follow a roadmap for sustainable research. More than 25 organisations have already registered for the certification scheme and are working towards certification.
Dr Loïc Lannelongue, Green DiSC Lead and Senior Researcher at the University of Cambridge: “It is wonderful to see the first round of certified teams after more than two years developing and testing Green DiSC. It is inspiring to see the research community stepping up and signaling that we cannot afford to ignore the environmental impacts of our digital research.”
Dr Kirsty Pringle, Project Manager at the Software Sustainability Institute, University of Edinburgh: “Digital research has a growing environmental footprint, but there’s not a lot of guidance on how to reduce it. The Green DiSC certification gives researchers clear, practical steps to improve the sustainability of their work.”
Martin Farley, UKRI Associate Director of Environmental Sustainability Programmes said “We’re incredibly excited to see the development of Green-DiSC, as this programme addresses an area of increasing importance for us and the research sector. We look forward to supporting this work in the future.”
The Green DiSC team is thrilled to announce its first round of Bronze Certification awardees:
- The Scientific Computing Team of The Institute of Cancer Research (United Kingdom) provides specialist comprehensive digital services to researchers at ICR, ensuring that their research runs as efficiently as possible.
- The Green Labs Working Group of the University of Groningen (Netherlands), which started as a grassroots movement in 2021 to guide researchers on sustainable activity in the laboratories, has grown to be a team and network of researchers, staff, students, and PIs.
- The Laboratory of Computational Genomics of the University of Pavia (Italy), which is focused on modelling inflammation as a key predictor of phenotype trajectories. Their laboratory mainly uses computational genomics methods and machine/deep learning.
- The Data Science Team of the Institute of Cancer Research (United Kingdom) covers informatics research including bioinformatics and computational biology, biostatistics, mathematical biology, in-silico medicinal chemistry, digital pathology, and computational physics.
- The Breast Cancer Research Data Science Team of the Institute of Cancer Research (United Kingdom) is a multidisciplinary team bringing together bioinformatics and statistical machine learning methods to identify therapeutic vulnerabilities and biomarkers of aggressive disease in breast cancer.
- The Digital Lab of the University of Groningen (Netherlands) aims to modernise the Computing Science programme’s teaching methods by designing, developing, and supporting tools that assists teachers with their (computer lab) teaching.
Green DiSC is hosted by the Software Sustainability Institute, which is led by EPCC at the University of Edinburgh in partnership with the universities of Manchester and Southampton. It is supported by the University of Cambridge and UKRI.
The next deadline to apply for certification is the 19th of November 2025. More information about Green DiSC and how to enrol is available on the website.
About Green DiSC
Green DiSC is a new open access certification scheme designed to give researchers and organisations a roadmap to tackle the environmental impacts of computational science. Joining the toolbox of certification schemes tackling the sustainability of laboratory research, Green DiSC is the first scheme dedicated to digital computing activities. Green DiSC is hosted by the Software Sustainability Institute and supported by the University of Cambridge and UKRI.
Until recent years, the environmental impacts of computer research have neither been thoroughly understood nor documented. While computing is undoubtedly an essential component of modern research, the advent of high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and large dataset production has shown that the greenhouse gas emissions of computer research can be substantial. In 2020, the ICT sector alone was estimated to contribute between 1.8-2.8% of GHG emissions for the year – comparable to the aviation sector which was estimated at 1.9%. Globally, data centres are estimated to have a carbon footprint similar to the US commercial aviation sector.
In June 2024, Green DiSC launched the Bronze criteria, the first level of the certification scheme. Designed to guide anyone working in research across any domain, Bronze lays out the initial steps to embed sustainability in a team’s activities – from its training resources to its hardware, data storage, and computing infrastructure.
The Green DiSC team is now piloting the next level of the scheme: the Silver criteria, any interested team can register here.
About the Software Sustainability Institute (SSI)
Founded in 2010, the Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) is led by EPCC at the University of Edinburgh in partnership with the universities of Manchester and Southampton. In 2023, the SSI received funding through the UKRI Digital Research Infrastructure Programme. The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) leads the funding for the fourth phase of the SSI. The SSI was the first organisation in the world dedicated to improving software in research. It was established on the premise that helping individuals and institutions understand the vital role of software in research would accelerate progress across all fields of scientific and academic endeavour.
Over the years, the Institute has advocated for and fostered a deeper understanding of the fundamental importance of research software, its developers and users, its requirements, and its role in advancing research within the UK.
The SSI is known for its innovation, collaborative approach, and determination in tackling even the most complex challenges. The Institute specialises in working across disciplines and identifying key individuals within communities who can drive change.
The organisation focuses on scalable initiatives to maximise the impact of its work and maintains a strong commitment to improving equality, diversity, and inclusivity across all of its activities.
The Institute is a partnership among three UK universities: the University of Edinburgh (led by EPCC), the University of Manchester, and the University of Southampton. It is supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Digital Research Infrastructure programme.
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