Enabling Organisational Change Through Ground-Up Initiatives: A Case Study from the STFC Scientific Computing Department
2026-08-24 • Computers and Society
Computers and Society
AI summaryⓘ
The authors explain how the Science and Technology Facilities Council's Scientific Computing Department created a practical plan to make their digital research tools more environmentally friendly. Their department supports many researchers with big computing systems and software in various science areas. They focused on tracking emissions, educating users, setting good sustainability habits, and providing ongoing support. The authors share what worked well and what challenges they faced, hoping their approach can help other similar groups.
Digital Research InfrastructureNet ZeroSustainability StrategyEmissions MonitoringHigh Performance ComputingUser EducationScience and Technology Facilities CouncilComputational BiologyMaterials ScienceSustainability Standards
Authors
Jessica Huntley, David McDonagh
Abstract
Transforming digital research infrastructure (DRI) to align with UK Net Zero targets requires significant action from organisations in this space. Although high level strategies and recommendations exist, it is not always obvious how to translate these into concrete results. Here we present a case study from the Science and Technology Facilities Council's Scientific Computing Department (SCD). This department consists of over 200 staff supporting tens of thousands of researchers, and is spread over significant cloud and high performance computing infrastructure, as well as a diverse ecosystem of software across computational biology, materials science, engineering, and mathematics. We show how we developed the sustainability strategy for SCD across themes of emissions monitoring, user education, best practice, setting sustainability standards, and providing long-term support to sustainability work. We discuss the successes and difficulties in establishing this strategy, and how this could serve as a template for other departments and facilities.