The Sustainability Stars Awards are an initiative run by the Wellcome Genome Campus to recognise sustainability champions amongst the campus’ institutes. Anyone can nominate a colleague or a team who go above and beyond when it comes to environmental sustainability. 

The winners of the 2023 awards were announced during a ceremony in December 2023. This year saw five EMBL-EBI winners who we want to celebrate. Below we share the great work they have done to reduce the institutes’ environmental impact.

• Nick Goldman – Research Group Leader

Nick has demonstrated proactive initiative by creating and managing a Google email group for the campus’ electric vehicle users. He disseminated information on joining the group by placing notices on vehicles and charging stations, ensuring broad participation. Through this platform, users can efficiently communicate, coordinate charging space availability, and assist each other. Nick’s innovative approach has led to more effective use of EV chargers, increased reliability, and reduced stress for users, promoting a positive impact on campus sustainability.

• Matthias Blum – InterPro/Pfam Development Project Leader

Matthias developed a tool that EMBL-EBI colleagues can use to visually represent their computing energy usage, estimated cost, and carbon footprint. This platform introduces an element of gamification and competition amongst teams, encouraging them to enhance the efficiency of algorithms used for production or experiments. It allows individuals to view both their own consumption and that of their teammates, serving as an incentive to write more efficient code and consider the impact of optimising algorithms, especially when processing large-scale data at EMBL-EBI.

• Helena Cornu – Communications Lead, Open Targets

Helena Cornu set up the craft club with Effie Mutasa-Gottgens as a way to bring craft enthusiasts together and promote recycling and waste reduction on Campus. The group fosters a culture of knowledge-sharing, materials reuse, and skills development. Helena and Sanger colleague Ruth Wright recently ran a repair café to encourage upcycling and repairing clothing and materials, and are planning more!

• Jeff Dowling – Senior Video Producer

Jeff seamlessly integrates sustainability into his daily life and work. In his role managing technical equipment purchases at EMBL-EBI, he prioritises second-hand options when possible, and evaluates manufacturers’ sustainability credentials, saving the institute funds and reducing new equipment purchases. As a videographer, Jeff minimises EMBL-EBI’s carbon footprint by meticulously curating and organising video content to reduce storage space, bandwidth, and the number of uploads/downloads.

• Oana Stroe – Senior Communications Officer

Oana is a dedicated advocate for green initiatives, consistently seeking opportunities to promote sustainability at EMBL-EBI and campus-wide. She is actively involved in the campus sustainability culture change group, helping to promote sustainability-related initiatives and events to EMBL-EBI colleagues. Oana leads by example in waste reduction and reuse. This includes reviewing merchandise choices, challenging environmentally impactful options and showcasing her commitment to fostering a sustainable work environment.

We want to thank all five for their commitment to environmental sustainability and hope that they inspire others to consider how they can have their own positive impact.

EMBL Sustainability Stories

With EMBL Sustainability Stories, the Sustainability Team wants to showcase the positive environmental impact of our colleagues. By shining a spotlight on the people and actions that make EMBL more sustainable, we can all become more aware of the different ways we can contribute to fighting the current environmental crisis.