On 22 January 2024, the heads of 16 French research institutions made a joint commitment to use their research activities and change the way they operate to help meet the challenges of the ecological transition towards sustainable development.
© Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieure et de la Recherche
At the end of a day-long discussion and brainstorming organised under the aegis of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research on 22 January 2024, the heads of 16 French research institutions made a collective commitment to use their research activities and change the way they operate to help meet the challenges of the ecological transition through sustainable development.
This public commitment marks the acceleration of a process that had already begun within each of the institutions, and which will be strengthened throughout 2024 to further the ecological transition. In a message to all the participants, Sylvie Retailleau, the French Minister for Higher Education and Research, welcomed the initiative, which is one of the measures set out in the Climate and Biodiversity Plan for the ecological transition and sustainable development in higher education and research.
Commitments to ecological transition
Their declaration commits the signatories to:
- planning and implementing a research strategy that takes account of all its social and environmental impacts.
- supporting the production and dissemination of knowledge and innovations that provide relevant solutions to meet societal challenges.
- developing and implementing a corporate social responsibility policy for their respective organisations.
- transforming their organisations by mobilising their work teams.
- getting their establishments to apply the State's ecological planning objectives in an exemplary fashion.
- sharing progress made and transition measures implemented within their establishments, on an annual basis.
- developing international partnerships and interdisciplinary work on sustainability issues.
Strengthening the dialogue between science and society
The 16 research organisations are also committed to working together to:
- strengthen the dialogue between science and society.
- improve society's confidence in science.
- provide scientific insight to help shape public ecological-planning policies in France, Europe and abroad.
BRGM, meeting the challenges of the subsurface for sustainable development
As a signatory to this declaration of commitments, BRGM, an expert in meeting subsurface challenges, has undertaken and will continue to conduct research in support of public policies geared towards sustainable development, and in the service of a sustainable society.
Faced with the ecological emergency, we are fully committed to implementing global objectives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris climate agreement. In line with France's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, we need to undertake research aimed at developing solutions that promote socio-ecological transitions. It also commits us to rethinking our working methods where necessary. This joint declaration marks our determination to meet the challenges of the ecological transition by promoting sustainable development, through our research and by changing our practices.
The declaration of commitments was signed on 22 January 2024 by the ANR, BRGM, CEA, CIRAD, CNES, CNRS, Ifremer, IHEST, INED, INRAE, INRIA, INSERM, IRD, IRSN, MNHN and Universciences.
© Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieure et de la Recherche
The 16 French research signatories
The 16 signatories of the declaration of commitments are as follows:
- The French National Research Agency (ANR - Agence Nationale de la Recherche).
- The French Geological Survey (BRGM - Bureau de Recherche Géologiques et Minières).
- The French Alternate Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA - Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique).
- The French Agricultural Research and Cooperation organisation (CIRAD - Centre de coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement).
- The French Space Agency (CNES - Centre National d'Études Spatiales).
- The French Agency for Scientific Research (CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique).
- The French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER - Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer).
- The Institute for Advanced Studies in Science and Technology (IHEST - Institut des Hautes Études pour la Science et la Technologie).
- The French Institute for Demographic Studies (INED - Institut National d’Études Démographiques).
- The National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’alimentation et l’Environnement).
- The National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (INRIA - Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique).
- The French Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM - Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale).
- The French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement).
- The Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN - Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire).
- The French Natural History Museum (MNHN - Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle).
- Universciences.
