CERN Environment report 2019-2020
"CERN released its second public Environment Report setting out concrete actions to reduce its environmental footprint"
CERN has just released its second public Environment Report. The report covers the years 2019-2020 when the accelerator complex was in its second long shutdown. The Laboratory made a commitment in 2019 to communicate on its environmental footprint every two years and in alignment with the internationally recognised GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards.
“The production of CERN’s first public Environment Report in 2020 enabled us to establish reporting frameworks and set concrete goals. This second report is about turning words into action,” declares CERN Director-General, Fabiola Gianotti.
To limit CERN’s direct greenhouse gas emissions, mostly related to the use of various fluorinated gases (F-gases), the experiments launched a leak repair campaign. The second long shutdown also marked the first step towards replacing F-gases with carbon dioxide (CO2) in detector cooling systems. This effort contributes to last year’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gases by 28% by the end of 2024.
CERN is also working on various heat recovery projects. In 2019, the Organization signed an agreement with the local French authorities regarding the collection of heat from its facilities at Point 8 of the Large Hadron Collider to provide heating for a residential area in neighbouring Ferney-Voltaire. Houses will be heated with reduced CO2 emissions and at a lower cost. The quantity of heat delivered will be progressive over 8-10 years.
The Environment Report also describes the energy efficiency improvements implemented at the HL-LHC, in particular its ability to gather more data per unit of energy used. Over the 20-year life-span of the upgraded machine, energy efficiency will eventually rise to a factor of ten higher.
This year’s report also presents for the first time data related to other indirect emissions, including for example business travel. A procedure for evaluating procurement-related emissions and a project for greening CERN’s procurement are under preparation and will be covered in a future report.
To read CERN Environmental report 2019-2020
Having the HL-LHC civil engineering overseen by an environmental engineer was one of the contractual conditions for these essential works for CERN’s future flagship facility (Image: CERN)