Eco-Responsibility Charter of LGL-TPE
Preamble
In March 2024, the management of LGL-TPE (hereafter “the Laboratory”) established an eco-responsibility group composed of volunteers following a general call to the Laboratory. This group was assigned the following missions:
- Collect available information about the Laboratory (notably on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions).
- Estimate an initial trend: what direction has the Laboratory taken in recent years?
- Propose potential actions to reduce our impact and possibly refine our estimation.
The eco-responsibility group drafted this charter considering the following elements:
- The Paris Agreement and EU commit us to a 55% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
- National and European funding programs will soon consider adherence to this objective.
- Calculating and accounting for individual emissions is necessary to raise awareness about GHG reduction.
- To account for individual differences, it is preferable that GHG quotas be assessed globally rather than by emission category.
- Estimating individual professional GHG emissions is challenging, particularly regarding purchases. However, the tools provided by Labos1point5 (https://apps.labos1point5.org/ges-1point5) simplify the process. Hence, spending 30 minutes to 1 hour annually to establish one’s emissions balance is a necessary commitment for each member of the Laboratory.
- Heating and air conditioning are managed by external authorities and are not under individual control; they are thus excluded from personal calculations.
- In the absence of past GHG emissions data for LGL-TPE, a reasonable proxy is provided by ISTERRE’s 2022 report: purchases (3.20 tCO₂e per person), missions (0.74 tCO₂e), commuting (0.41 tCO₂e), totaling 4.35 tCO₂e per person (excluding heating: 0.46, and other emissions <0.17).
- We are also required to reduce our energy consumption, but for the sake of gradual implementation, this effort will be addressed later.
- This charter is inspired by and adapted from the charter adopted by the LOCEAN laboratory. It is based on the approval of the following proposals.
- Laboratory members were consulted through an online advisory vote after the extraordinary General Assembly on June 3, 2024, regarding the proposals of this charter. It was subsequently voted on during the Laboratory Council on July 4, 2024 (15 votes in favor, 1 against).
- The three measures in this charter are independent and were adopted separately.
Measure 1 – Principle:
The Laboratory commits to reducing its GHG emissions in alignment with the trajectory set by the Paris Agreement and EU (i.e., a 55% reduction from 1990 levels by 2030).
Measure adopted by 95% of voters (102 votes in favor, 5 against, 2 abstentions).
Measure 2 – Reduction of emissions:
The Laboratory will implement an annual GHG emissions quota for its purchases, missions, and home-work commuting, based on the 2023 GHG assessment. We anticipate this will be approximately 5 tCO₂e per staff member (i.e., 850 tCO₂e for the entire laboratory, which includes 170 staff members in 2024).
The goal is to gradually and collectively reduce the Laboratory’s impact by 55% by 2030, following the schedule below:
| Year | Annualized GHG Quota (compared to 2023 baseline) |
| 2024 | 100% of the 2023 GHG assessment |
| 2025 | 90% of the 2023 GHG assessment |
| 2026 | 80% of the 2023 GHG assessment |
| 2027 | 70% of the 2023 GHG assessment |
| 2028 | 60% of the 2023 GHG assessment |
| 2029 | 50% of the 2023 GHG assessment |
| 2030 | 45% of the 2023 GHG assessment |
To achieve this, the eco-responsibility working group will establish the Laboratory’s global emissions report, using data collected through dedicated software, to be implemented by April 2024.
Additionally, we propose that each staff member anonymously calculates their individual professional GHG emissions and submits the data to the designated eco-responsibility group representative.
Collective purchases may be accounted for proportionally based on usage. In such cases, the emissions will be distributed accordingly among the relevant staff members.
If this procedure fails to keep the Laboratory within its GHG emission limits, it will be reviewed and adjusted accordingly.
Measure adopted by 83% of voters (90 votes in favor, 12 against, 7 abstentions).
Measure 3 – Monitoring the reduction process:
- The Laboratory publishes this charter and reports on whether it has been adopted.
- Each December, all staff members are invited to complete their individual professional GHG assessment for the current year using the designated tool.
- Each year, the Laboratory analyzes the results and publishes its annual GHG report on its website.
- New staff members are informed of this charter upon arrival and commit to adhering to its principles.
Measure adopted by 87% of voters (95 votes in favor, 9 against, 5 abstentions).