{"id":258971,"date":"2026-03-03T14:36:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T14:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/course-and-conference-office\/?p=258971"},"modified":"2026-03-03T16:28:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:28:43","slug":"its-time-to-consider-the-environmental-impact-of-computing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/course-and-conference-office\/2026\/03\/its-time-to-consider-the-environmental-impact-of-computing\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s time to consider the environmental impact of computing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A new online tutorial from EMBL\u2019s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL\u2011EBI) is helping researchers understand and reduce the environmental impact of their computational work, further advancing EMBL\u2019s commitment to more sustainable science<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From climate modelling and particle-physics simulations to machine learning models for sectors like agriculture and renewable energy, scientific computing has supported groundbreaking discoveries. Researchers are now able to tackle increasingly complex questions and model real-world systems at unprecedented scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as computing power grows, so does an important question: what are the environmental impacts of these computing activities and infrastructures?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scientific community is facing increasing pressure to improve transparency and embed sustainability in its practices whilst resources and guidance are still limited. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

New training materials now available<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To help close this gap, EMBL-EBI Training and the Cambridge Sustainable Computing Lab have collaborated on a free and interactive introductory online tutorial<\/a> on the environmental impacts of computational research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sustainable<\/a>
Image credit: Karen Arnott\/EMBL-EBI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The training can be accessed at any time, regardless of your location. By signing up for a free EMBL-EBI Training account, you can also pause your learning and save your progress to continue another day. We advise that it will take approximately three hours to work through the material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is the tutorial for?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you\u2019re a student or researcher in academia or industry, this free online tutorial is designed for anyone involved in computational work or for anyone simply curious about the sustainability of computing. No prior knowledge of computing infrastructure is required.

Building capacity for sustainable research<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tutorial covers the environmental impacts of computing and breaks down how carbon footprint estimation works. The developers of the training also provide helpful tools to get started, highlight relevant initiatives in green computing, and discuss the limitations and challenges in this space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The training course was written by Lo\u00efc Lannelongue<\/a>, Assistant Research Professor, Department of Public Health & Primary Care at the University of Cambridge and Flaminia Zane<\/a>, Scientific Training Officer \u2013 Digital Learning at EMBL\u2019s European Bioinformatics Institute, with funding from the Wellcome Trust<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more about green computing, check out these other resources by the same developers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n