We are pleased to share that Dr. Hannah Wakeling and Prof. Philip Burrows just published a co-authored article in Nature Reviews Physics, titled “Community-specific guidance for environmental sustainability in particle accelerators” (2025)1.
This paper shares how community-specific guidance can help address environmental sustainability within research, and introduces the "High-level environmental sustainability guidelines for large accelerator facilities" living document shared on the arXiv in January 2025.
The living document addresses the pressing challenge of reducing the environmental footprint of particle accelerators. Whilst providing endless benefits to society, accelerators are among the most resource-intensive facilities in the physical sciences. Current, relevant, community-specific guidelines are proposed within the living document, encouraging different accelerator facilities and sub-communities to adopt tailored strategies depending on their scale, technology, location, and mission. It also encourages interdisciplinary collaboration: accelerator physicists, engineers, environmental scientists, and policy makers must work together to embed sustainability from design throughout production, operation and decommissioning. Key topics include energy efficiency, resource usage (water, cooling), waste management, and lifecycle assessments.
This publication underscores the John Adams Institute’s commitment advancing accelerator science and confronting its broader responsibilities in the context of sustainable research practices. The approach taken in the paper resonates strongly with the JAI's values of long-term thinking, community engagement, and scientific leadership.
The author team includes Hannah Wakeling and Philip Burrows from the John Adams Institute (University of Oxford); Jim Clarke and Ben Shepherd from STFC Daresbury Laboratory and the Cockcroft Institute; Jo Colwell from STFC Didcot; and John Thomason from the ISIS Neutron & Muon Source. They encourage you to take a look at the guidelines and share your thoughts.
The article was published on 25th September 2025 in Nature Reviews Physics1. The preprint version of the guidelines (on arXiv) provides access to the living document itself.
1. Wakeling, H., Burrows, P., Clarke, J. et al. Community-specific guidance for environmental sustainability in particle accelerators. Nat Rev Phys (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-025-00878-6
