Guidance for field-based researchers

Consider the energy required for lighting, heating, and air-conditioning in your building. Also consider the source of this energy, such as whether your building uses gas, oil or electricity for heating, and how this electricity is generated.

Depending whether your work requires use of a laboratory space this may also include energy required by the systems which regulate the conditions required for conducting your experiments, such as ventilation systems, and thermal or humidity control.

Be mindful of water consumption in the building you work in, generated from office kitchens, toilets, and hand-washing (as is the case for desk-based researchers). However, water use may account for an increased proportion of the total environmental impacts of your research if water is used for the sterilisation of equipment.

Beyond energy to power computers, and the energy use associated with requirements for computing power or data storage, your research may also require the use of a broad range of equipment, some of which may be particularly energy hungry.

Research waste includes all materials used for your research and by-products of the processes, including samples that won’t be stored for future use. This waste may include paper (like documents and packaging), plastics (swabs, pipettes, petri dishes), glass (beakers, ampoules), and chemicals. It may also involve discarded equipment or furniture that is no longer usable or needed.

Consider the energy-use, resource-use and emissions associated with manufacturing and delivering the equipment you need for research tasks.

Energy use, resource consumption, and emissions from your experiment depend on how it's planned. Factors include whether you found existing models to reuse, if you can input data directly during the experiment instead of manually afterward, or if you can reduce on-site monitoring by using algorithms for statistical checks.

Energy use and emissions from your work travel depend on the type of transport and the length of the journey. This includes travel for meeting students, colleagues, or attending conferences. Since your work involves travel for data collection, analysis, or observation, it likely has a significant environmental impact.

Consider the resource use, energy consumption, emissions, waste, and indirect water use associated with food at research events you host or attend. If you're not the organiser, it may be challenging to control these factors, and key hospitality decisions might be beyond your influence.