Supporting the transition to a sustainable economy and society

Good Science for the Green Transition

Integrating Environmental Ethics into Research Ethics and Integrity

Research and innovation processes have greatly contributed to addressing environmental issues by enhancing our understanding of contemporary ecological crises in areas such as climate science and by developing specific solutions to sustainability issues. However, to fulfil this role more effectively, R&I itself must become aware of its environmental and social impacts. For the European research sector, for example, emissions have been estimated to amount to 0.7% of total EU emissions in 2023. Innovations often come with hidden environmental and social costs, such as increased competition for minerals and the associated environmental degradation in mining regions. To date, the environmental and climate ethics of research have not been adequately addressed in existing research ethics and integrity frameworks. Over the past three years, RE4GREEN, alongside other initiatives, has laid the groundwork to bring these two largely disconnected fields together, and is now poised to establish the foundation for the new subdiscipline of environmental research ethics and integrity. Good Science for the Green Transition is a one-and-a-half-day symposium at which the project's results will be presented and discussed with related initiatives and stakeholders from across the European ecosystem and beyond.

The symposium will be organized around the topic of sustainable research ethics and integrity. Its target audience are researchers, research managers, research funders, ethics experts, ethics educators, policy makers, and civil society. The program will be published in October 2026. It will include a mix of formats, including presentations, panel discussions, and workshops. External contributions are welcome. If you are interested in hosting a session, please reach out via fischbach@drze.de.

Participation is possible in-person (limited to 100 participants) and online.