UKRI has committed to driving the development of a more environmentally sustainable research and innovation sector in its 2025 to 2030 environmental sustainability strategy.
UKRI considers environmental sustainability to be an integral element of research excellence, and all UKRI-funded research should be delivered in a way that considers and minimises negative environmental impacts.
The Climate Change Act 2008 legally requires the UK to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050.
The Environment Act 2021 enshrines environmental protection in UK law and sets legally binding targets to improve the natural environment.
As part of the UK government, UKRI is required to report against, and take action to help government achieve the Greening Government Commitments.
SPARKHub has been developed by UKRI with input from the sector including other funders such as:
The hub is currently going through a pilot phase.
SPARKHub provides a set of open access practical actions and certification for groups and organisations. Following these will help them to achieve the aims of the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice.
UKRI has published its position on the use of carbon offsetting in relation to its net zero activities and expenditure of UKRI funds and grants.
For UKRI staff, our travel, subsistence and expenses policy states that environmental impact is one of four key factors that should be considered before travelling.
For grant holders receiving UKRI funding, see section ‘RGC 4 Use of grant’ in the guidance on UKRI terms and conditions for FEC grants. It outlines how environmental considerations are part of ‘value for money’ when making decisions on travel for research. Travel should be by standard or economy class, and consideration to the environmental impact of travel for grant-funded research should be in line with your institutional travel policy.
The Framework for responsible research and innovation from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council outlines how grant holders can minimise environmental impacts from their research.
UKRI is a signatory of the Concordat for the environmental sustainability of research and innovation practice. This is a collaborative document owned collectively by the research and innovation sector and currently hosted by Wellcome Trust.
The concordat promotes wider solutions and taking shared action now and into the future to achieve the transition to sustainable practices. Annex A of the concordat includes guidance and recommendations on how researchers might address the concordat priorities.
Alongside the concordat, the accompanying UKRI-led report ‘Environmental sustainability and research and innovation practice’ provides an overview of sustainability in current research practice.
The UKRI environmental sustainability strategy (2025-2030) has been structured to align with the priorities of the Concordat and drive systematic and continuous improvement in them all.
UKRI is also a signatory of the Technician Commitment, which has sustainability as one of the four key commitment areas. UKRI has published a Technician Commitment Action Plan.
In 2025 UKRI worked with UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy on a report that recognises the crucial role that technician’s play in embedding environmental sustainability into research practice and how they work with researchers. Read the ‘Driving environmental sustainability’ report (PDF, 3.7MB).
Last updated: 13 February 2026
