On 27 February, at the CSIC Assembly Hall in Madrid, the first five Sustainability Distinctions of the Centro Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) were awarded. This call aimed to recognize centres that stand out for developing significant actions in the field of environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

On this occasion, ICMAB-CSIC was one of the five centres recognized with a runner-up distinction, following the three monetary awards granted to the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), the Institute for Integrative Systems (i2SysBio), and the Institute of Geosciences of Barcelona (GEO3BCN), respectively. ICMAB shares the recognition with the Institute of Molecular Biology of Barcelona (IMBM).

 Official video of ICMAB's work on sustainability

The ceremony and the recognition

The coordinator of the ICMAB Sustainability Committee and head of maintenance, Oriol Sabater, accepted the award on behalf of ICMAB. The award was granted to the ICMAB for effectively implementing the lines of action of the CSIC Sustainability Plan and integrating them into its own approach, combining concrete actions, impact assessment, and awareness-raising. In Oriol’s words, “This recognition gives us renewed energy to keep moving forward and confirms that our efforts are valued at the institutional level.”

Oriol Sabater with the distinction, next to Eloísa del Pino, CSIC's president | Credit: CSIC 

"Since the creation of the CSIC Sustainability Committee and the publication, one year ago, of the Sustainability Plan, the number of sustainability committees across the ICUs has steadily increased, with more than 70 committees currently established. This clearly demonstrates the Plan’s initial success in laying the foundations to improve sustainability across CSIC centres", points out Oriol Sabater. “Seeing how many centres have created their own committees in such a short time shows that sustainability is no longer a marginal initiative, but a shared institutional commitment.”

The ceremony had a very positive and encouraging atmosphere, which helped build connections and foster collaborations that will undoubtedly be fruitful. It also featured a highly engaging roundtable discussion on “Sustainability as an institutional culture,” highlighting the importance of embedding these values into the everyday life of research centres.

The distinctions will be awarded annually and will be valid for five years. This initiative is part of the 2024–2026 Sustainability Plan, the first of its kind promoted by the Council, whose purpose is to integrate environmental, social, and economic sustainability across the institution’s activities on a long-term basis.

You can check the highlights of the event posted in X and Instagram, and the whole ceremony in Youtube. 

ICMAB’s Sustainability Actions

Since 2023, when the CSIC Sustainability Committee was created, its objective has been to reduce the Institute’s environmental impact across all its areas of activity. In its first years, it has focused on carrying out a diagnosis of the centre’s current situation and defining the main lines of action structured around three pillars:

• Monitoring environmental impact: tracking energy, water, materials, and digital resource consumption, as well as waste generation, participation in training and awareness activities, and projects related to energy and sustainability.
  
  
• Changes to the centre’s facilities for a greener ICMAB: including reducing water consumption, optimizing energy use, promoting reuse and recycling, and prioritizing more sustainable chemicals and synthesis routes. Work is also being done to reduce the environmental impact of the centre’s community through institutional support in areas such as mobility, responsible procurement, awareness-raising, and participation in sustainable initiatives.
  
  
• Awareness-raising activities and the promotion of more sustainable habits through informative posters, workshops, and talks, including various activities to celebrate World Environment Day, Sustainability Week, and European Mobility Week.

The Sustainability Committee has coordinated more than 40 actions with the centre’s services, research groups, and management team to promote structural changes and awareness initiatives. 

"We want to continue working on outreach and awareness-raising, which is essential because without people being aware and engaged, it is impossible to improve sustainability within our center and in our daily lives", says Oriol Sabater when asked about future actions of the Sustainability Committee at ICMAB. "In terms of concrete actions, this year we will focus on how to make the daily operation of laboratories more sustainable and how to reduce our digital footprint, as well as using AI responsibly". 

If you would like to join the interesting activities of the Committee, you can write to Oriol Sabater or to any of the Committee’s members.

The Sustainability Distinctions 2026 | Credit: CSIC

More information:

 El CSIC concede su Distintivo de Sostenibilidad a cinco institutos de investigación (CSIC, febrer 2026)