Towards Sustainability

Physics is about understanding nature at its most fundamental level. Insights gained in research are turned into the development of advanced technologies that benefit humankind overall. In our department, we focus on fundamental phenomena, from elementary particle scales to the universe, we investigate quantum mechanics and develop quantum technologies, and we work by means of observation, experiment and theory.

An intriguing aspect of our research is that we, as researchers, are part of the same nature we observe. Therefore, the very laws of nature that we investigate equally apply to us. In particular, we conduct our research on Earth, which has a finite extent and consequently can only offer a finite amount of resources. In order to continue our research over an extended period of time, we are thus well-advised to work in a sustainable fashion and to rely on renewable resources.

The insight that CO₂ emissions increase the global surface temperature by means of the greenhouse effect — an insight obtained long ago by Joseph Fourier and by now well documented by science. As physicists, we are aware that our research causes such emissions in various ways, at least in the present mode of operation.

Following the external page 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, reports of the external page IPCC as well as the increasing awareness in the general public, ETH Zurich investigated the causes of its own CO₂ (or equivalent) emissions, and realised that a substantial amount originates from business travel. Hence, in 2018, each department specified reduction goals for its emissions from air travel within the scope of the ETH Air Travel Project. The Department of Physics set itself the goal of a 20% reduction of emissions for the period 2019–2025, a target that was considered feasible without adverse effects on our work. However, it soon became clear that this goal will not be sufficient in what it aims to achieve. Rather, much more substantial reductions will inevitably need to be imposed on top of present efforts, and they would have to be achieved in a very limited time frame. Starting with a single soft reduction scheme wastes precious time in view of the rapidly progressing climate crisis.

The Department therefore decided to review its goals, to develop a broader and more ambitious programme to reduce its CO₂ climate impact and to initiate a change of mindset towards making our research operations sustainable.

In 2020 the Department installed a working group on the topic “CO₂” with the aims of:

• assessing the climate impact of current scientific operations at D-PHYS
• proposing actions, best practices and recommendations to reduce CO₂-equivalent emissions
• summarising our work in a report to the attention of the Department

The working group convened (virtually) several times throughout Spring and Summer 2020, where the members discussed its mission and strategy and brainstormed a broad spectrum of conceivable measures and implementations. The efforts were coordinated with the ETH Sustainability Office and the ETH Air Travel Project in order to find alignment with the overall strategy at ETH Zurich.

As an overarching goal the working group envisioned a CO₂-equivalent emission path for the department operations that is compatible with the goals of the Paris agreement (upon scaling to a global level). More broadly, the goal is to enable and facilitate an environment for research, teaching and work which encourages sustainable behaviour rather than to disfavour it; acting sustainably should be easy and normal. Furthermore, pursuing these goals right now represents an opportunity to establish D-PHYS as a pioneer in adopting a sustainable mode of operation within ETH Zurich.

The principal outcome of this working group is a detailed Download report document (PDF, 510 KB) that illustrates the status quo at D-PHYS and that present a plausible CO₂ roadmap and concrete actions. In October 2020, the department endorsed this report and the suggested measures contained therein.

It is evident that videoconferencing (VC) will be a vital tool in a future sustainable science environment. Fortunately, the benefits brought forward by VC are strategically aligned with several societal challenges such as inclusiveness, social obligations, financial considerations, work-life balance and others:

• Facilitate the inclusion of scientists from less resourceful universities, from developing countries or from regions with adverse political circumstances.
• Allow scientists with children or family care duties, scientists with particular disabilities and scientists with environmental concerns to participate in conferences according to their capabilities and needs.
• Online participation bears substantially lower costs than on-site participation. This fact easily boosts the reach of the event.
• At a personal level, attending virtual events can be less time demanding and jet-lag and travel-related stress is avoided.
• Remote delivery of talks may attract a broader pool of potential speakers. Virtual events can thus increase the amount of inter-disciplinary communication.

These benefits on their own are a significant motivation for engaging in virtual conferences.

At D-PHYS, we intend to take the lead in enabling VC to become a realistic alternative to travelling to conferences. We all need to gather experience in this regard and get used to virtual conferences. Importantly, virtual conferences need to become recognised and well-attended by established researchers to pave the way for a sustainable career path for youngsters.

We will therefore develop formats for scientific exchange that combine the positive aspects of physical and virtual events. A key element of our strategy for D-PHYS is to conduct our scientific events at least in a semi-virtual fashion, and to offer the option of remote attendance and remote talks as a matter of principle. Similar considerations apply to our research seminars and administrative meetings. With this inclusive approach we will help establishing a scientific exchange operating at net-zero carbon emissions in which the need for physical presence at inter- and transcontinental workshops will increasingly be the exception.

Presently, commercial flights exclusively use fossil fuels, while trains can easily use renewable energy through the electricity grid. This clearly distinguishes trains as the preferred mode of travel in terms of climate sustainability, and this conclusion will continue to apply at least throughout the present decade. The following default behaviour has been agreed upon:

• D-PHYS members travel by train to destinations which can be reached by train within 6 hours; travel by train to more distant destinations is encouraged.
• Travel planning takes aspects of sustainability into account; it is assisted by comparison and external page decision tools provided by ETH Zurich.
• Visitors to D-PHYS are informed about our travel guidelines in the travel planning stage and they are encouraged to follow them.
• We adjust emission goals for air travel at D-PHYS within the ETH Air Travel Project (period 2019–2025) to be significantly more ambitious than our initial declaration. The aim is to realise substantial parts of the reductions required to be compatible with the external page Paris Agreement in the near future, so that subsequent reductions will have a less severe impact on our operations.

The reduction efforts are collaborative: All research groups aim to have low CO₂ emissions. Research groups with above-average CO₂ emissions will make efforts to achieve above-average reductions. Research groups with below-average CO₂ emissions will make efforts to remain below average.

The aforementioned actions can only be followed if the department members at large know about and respect them. We will follow them with more confidence if we truly understand their motivation and purposes. Therefore, it is crucial to make all department members aware of the issues at hand, and to engage actively in discussions of these topics. This needs to be an ongoing effort because the composition of the department changes continuously. The roadmap describes suggestions and ideas to this end, and we list some of the most relevant resources below.

Of course, the immedaite impact of improving our mode of operation can merely be local — its overall global impact will be very limited by construction. However, that does not disqualify our actions; they are useful and necessary. To the contrary, our goal is to enhance the impact by reaching out to our large community of peers, colleagues and students. In that sense, an ideal measure will not only lead to a reduction of incidental CO₂-equivalent emissions, but it will inspire others to follow them as well.

Altogether, we hope to catalyse a rethinking of research environments at scientific institutions in which future generations of scientists will be able to perform their work both successfully and sustainably.