The UK research and innovation (R&I) sector have co-developed a voluntary environmental sustainability concordat. The concordat represents a shared ambition for the UK to continue delivering cutting-edge research, but in a more environmentally responsible and sustainable way.
The aim of the concordat is to ensure research and innovation continues to play a critical part in understanding how our planet is changing, while helping the sector to act responsibly to protect and promote our environment
By signing this concordat, signatories:
This concordat has been produced in collaboration with representatives across the research and innovation sector (including universities, research Institutes, catapults and funding organisations) so that the sector can deliver a shared ambition as part of meeting the global challenge.
This webinar will provide an overview of the concordat’s goals, progress to date, and future directions. This webinar will also include a Q&A for open discussion, such as the barriers and challenges to the sector, tools and resources and knowledge sharing.
As part of our Environmental Sustainability Policy, Wellcome requires organisations we fund in the UK to be signatories of the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice by the end of 2024.
Signatories agree to work individually and collectively to ensure the future design and practice of UK research and innovation is environmentally sustainable.
The aims of the concordat are to:
By achieving these aims, the UK will retain its global influence in research and innovation, continuing and enhancing the strong partnerships and collaborations that exist and aiming to inspire organisations, researchers, and innovators around the world to follow in the UK’s footsteps in how we conduct research and innovation in an environmentally responsible way.
Signatories to this concordat agree to the following six areas where they commit to taking action at a whole institutional level and collectively across the sector to deliver real change by 2050:
Leadership and system change
Sustainable Infrastructure
Sustainable procurement
Emissions from business and academic travel
Collaborations and partnerships
Environmental impact and reporting data
Organisations can show their support for the concordat at two levels: as a signatory or as a supporter.
Signatories: Signatory organisations agree to all six priority areas that are outlined in this concordat.
Supporters: Supporters of the concordat agree with the aims and many of the priority areas included in the concordat, however they are not able to commit to being a full signatory at this time. Supporters can become signatories at any time, as and when they can agree to the commitments in the concordat.
Signing up to the concordat is a commitment to the concordat's aims, and signatories are not expected to follow the terms on the day of signing.
Submit this form to sign up to the Concordat as either a signatory or supporter. Responses to this form are managed by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC).
Ensure that a letter is published on their website to within 6 months of becoming a signatory. This should be signed by the head of organisation, for example the Chief Executive, Head Director, or Vice Chancellor.
Include concordat references in appropriate and prominent organisational strategies, documents and practices. This may include environmental/ climate change strategy, corporate responsibility reports, objective setting or your annual report.
Ensure the annual reporting referred to in priority six of the concordat is published and is open and transparent.
Supporters of the concordat agree with the aims and many of the priority areas included in the concordat, however, they are not able to commit to being a full signatory at this time.
By becoming a supporter, organisations agree to engage in good faith with the principles and objectives of the concordat and to reference their involvement accurately and responsibly.
Supporters can become signatories at any time, as and when they can agree to the commitments in the concordat.
Yes. By becoming a signatory, your organisation is committing to taking action and reporting its progress annually. At the point of signing, organisations will be at various stages of their environmental journeys, and they are not expected to have started or completed actions in all six priority areas. By becoming signatories, organisations are agreeing “to take action at a whole institutional level and collectively across the sector to deliver real change by 2050”.
Yes, supporters can become a signatory at any point, once their organisation is ready to commit to all the requirements of the concordat, and where continued participation aligns with the concordat’s principles and expectations for engagement.
Submit this form to sign up as a signatory to the concordat.
A signatory must publish their letter of support on their organisation’s website within six months of signing up to the concordat. The letter must be signed by the head of the organisation, for example the Chief Executive, Head, Director or Vice Chancellor. A letter template has been developed to support signatories.
Once you submit your form, you will receive a confirmation email acknowledging your submission. This email will include details on the next steps as a signatory or supporter.
You will receive a further email when your organisation has been added to the list of signatories on the concordat website. This list is updated monthly.
We aim to update the signatory and supporter list of organisations on a monthly basis.
Organisations can join the environmental sustainability concordat community of practice.
For further information on how to join the group, visit the environmental sustainability concordat community of practice.
Yes. The concordat’s oversight board reserves the right to decline, suspend or remove supporter or signatory status where it believes continued participation risks bringing the principles, objectives or delivery of the concordat into disrepute.
Any such action would normally be considered a last resort, following proportionate and constructive engagement with the organisation to understand and, where possible, resolve any concerns in a way that reflects the collaborative spirit of the concordat.
Any such decisions will be taken on a proportionate, evidence-informed basis, with a focus on protecting the credibility and integrity of the concordat.
Wellcome are hosting the concordat on behalf of the sector, with assistance from UKRI. The Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) are providing the secretariat function for the concordat's signatories. Data collected is managed in line with EAUC's privacy policy.
Organisational data provided will be published on this page as well as in relevant reports about the concordat's reach, implementation and impact. Personal data collected will be shared solely between Wellcome and EAUC for the purpose of managing signatories.
The Oversight Group is made up of representatives from across the sector and meets twice a year. Meeting summaries will be published on this webpage. The Oversight Group will review evidence on the concordat’s impact and make recommendations on what further action is necessary to assist the transition to environmentally sustainable research practice. View the Concordat Oversight Group Terms of Reference.
In recognition of the need for continuous improvement, after five years of operation the wording of the concordat priorities and guidance will be reviewed. The content review will ensure that the wording reflects the current landscape, appetite for change and capabilities of the sector, factoring in any developments in good practice, technology and approaches that are likely to emerge at pace through this transition, for example nature-based solutions.
Signatories must report headline data on environmental impact and performance on an annual basis on their website. Organisations may augment their quantitative reporting by providing a narrative report alongside their figures. Reporting should also include concordat-related priority actions for the year ahead. The concordat encourages the use of existing internal processes and frameworks for reporting, rather than requiring anything additional or new. The report must be open and transparent.
The Concordat does not include a specific reporting mechanism, so organisations can use their current mechanism/s (such as ISO14001, EMR, GGC etc.) and publish them on their website to meet the reporting requirements.
The concordat does not have any specific requirements on laboratories. The concordat only states ‘organisations following accredited standards or programmes (including but not limited to ‘LEAF’, ‘My Green Lab’, ISO standards) are encouraged to cross-reference or refer to any associated and relevant reporting when considering the narrative reporting outlined’.
No. The concordat is self-governed by the sector. It is the responsibility of each signatory organisation to manage its own reporting processes and ensure compliance with the reporting requirements outlined in the concordat.
Yes, there is a reporting framework for research and innovation institutes and organisations funding research and innovation. This framework has been developed to help align reporting on the impacts of research and innovation.
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De Montfort University (DMU) is a large higher education institute with sustainability strongly embedded across its operations and research activities. Its research covers key focus areas such as health and well-being, sustainability and society, education, humanities, and culture, by environment-focused and impact-driven projects. The university also actively engages in international research through acquiring the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).
DMU has taken its responsibility towards sustainability seriously for many years. In 2018, it became the first UK United Nations Academic Impact Global Hub for Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG), a position it has held ever since (the UN Hub status changed in 2025 to be global hub for SDG11). Our UN Hub is critical to delivering the university’s commitments set out in DMU’s Empowering University strategic theme of Sustainability & the SDGs. Becoming a supporter of the concordat with an intention to sign up to it reinforced this reputation and provided several benefits:
We wanted to get on with things immediately so whilst discussions were underway as outlined above we decided to join the concordat initially as a supporter – this was a first step in becoming a signatory and a sign of commitment to the concordat from the university. It felt like a natural first step and helped us discuss and socialise the next step within the university.
It was important to have institutional buy-in to the process of becoming a signatory from the start. Discussion began and was championed by the University Sustainability Committee (USC) and the UN SDG Hub. The PVC for Sustainability sits at Executive Board level and was able to discuss with and get buy-in from the DVC Planning, Research & Innovation and the Vice Chancellor.
Becoming a signatory was raised and discussed at the USC and then raised, outlined and discussed with senior leaders. There was strong support for the move across the university and not just in the research and innovation community. It was felt that signing up to the concordat would strengthen our commitment both internally and externally to sustainability in all its forms, but particularly environmental sustainability. After that, signing up on the website was very straightforward.
No particular challenges, groups from across the university are very sustainability savvy and could see the benefits of us doing this. Following our signing-up to the concordat we have set time aside at the University Sustainability Committee to outline an agreed approach to meeting the commitments rather than just expecting this to happen. This will involve some specific pieces of work related to each commitment, so it is the “doing” bit of the process.
Discuss signing up to the concordat across as many relevant fora in the institution as possible to ensure buy-in to the process and clarity about the commitments – make sure it is championed at the highest levels of leadership within the institution. Discussion and clarity are key - academic staff and researchers may resist changes to established practices, such as reducing international travel for conferences or altering procurement habits. Embedding sustainability requires widespread buy-in across disciplines, which can be uneven.
A report reviewing the landscape of environmental sustainability in the UK Research and Innovation Sector was commissioned by the concordat oversight group and published in January 2026. Watch the report launch webinar.
This report was designed to establish a benchmark for assessing the concordat’s impact over time. The datasets reviewed in this report will be vital for understanding the concordat’s success and driving meaningful, measurable change across the sector.
For questions about the concordat, contact the Environmental Association for Univeristies and Colleges's (EAUC) dedicated inbox.
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