Researchers applying for Wellcome Trust grants will have to explain how they plan to reduce energy consumption, reuse equipment and recycle waste products, the biomedical research funder has announced.
Under new guidelines issued on 25 April, applicants to the UK-based health research charity will be asked to consider the environmental cost of their proposed research projects as well as the financial expense.
The new rules are designed to encourage more environmentally responsible choices, even if there is a higher up-front cost, Wellcome said.
The changes coincide with the launch of a voluntary environmental sustainability concordat co-developed by more than 25 UK research organisations, including the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester and Liverpool, as well as UCL.
