Team Carbone

As part of UGA's social and environmental commitments, researchers are also working to assess and reduce their laboratories' carbon footprint. To this end, CERAG has created a "Carbon Team."

What is the “Carbon Team”? It is the CERAG working group that prepares the laboratory’s greenhouse gas inventory (GHG) to help reduce our environmental footprint. The Carbon Team is behind the CERAG’s commitment charter and is aligned with the commitments championed by the UGA’s Vice Presidency for Ecological Transformation.

Led by Gildas BARBOT, Team Carbone has three objectives:

Assessment of CERAG's Carbon Footprint
Raising Awareness About the Effects of Carbon Emissions
Implementation of Best Practices

An initial set of four measures was adopted at an extraordinary general meeting on September 25, 2023:

Action 1: Agreement in principle on the CERAG Charter of Commitment.
Measure 2: I commit to ensuring that every new purchase is consistent with the principle of frugality.
Measure 3: The food served at events organized by CERAG is now 100% vegetarian.
Measure 4: The laboratory will cover the cost of air travel only when the train trip takes more than 6 hours or requires three or more transfers.

A second set of five measures was adopted at the general meeting on April 5, 2024:

Measure 5: Meetings held at the lab (with the exception of the general meeting) are always offered via video conference.
Measure 6: Lab members report the carbon footprint of their trip when requesting travel funding on the spreadsheet shared by the research areas (using the Lab 1.5 simulator).
Measure 7: All end-of-life equipment must be returned so it can be directed to a reuse or recycling program.
Measure 8: The laboratory no longer uses disposable tableware for buffets. CERAG has opted to rent cutlery from caterers.
Measure 9: When requesting a quote for any purchase of computer or telecommunications equipment, CERAG members consult a checklist of questions to ensure the purchase is made responsibly.
- • What actual need does this purchase address? Is it really useful?
- Is this an immediate need, or can the purchase wait?
- Isn't there an alternative to the purchase you're considering—such as a loan or a lease?
- Do I have any idea where the product comes from—including where and under what conditions it was manufactured?

The team presented its method during a Zoom Info session on December¹, 2022, which you can find online at this link. 2022 is our base year for calculating our BGES using the Labo 1.5 method.