The recent Sustainability Symposium at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) brought together guest speakers, researchers, and students to share valuable perspectives on how to make scientific research more sustainable.

We extend our gratitude to Prof. Dr. Sebastian Seiffert for emphasizing the urgency of the topic, to our colleagues at SFB1552 for hosting the event, and to our distinguished guest speakers — Prof. Dr. Nico Burns (TU Darmstadt), Dr. Ilka Paulus (DFG), and Charlotte Criscuolo (My Green Lab) — for their insightful contributions on reducing the carbon footprint of research.

The symposium also highlighted the work of SUNNY, a grassroots student initiative at JGU, whose projects — such as the Future Certificate, a structured training program on sustainability — provide an excellent example of how students are driving change from the ground up.

At SFB1551, we are actively pursuing the My Green Lab Certification. We are pleased to announce that the Landfester Lab (MPIP) has successfully achieved full certification, setting an outstanding benchmark. The Dormann and Lemke Labs are currently in the implementation phase, and we look forward to supporting more laboratories as they embark on this important journey.

The symposium reaffirmed that collaboration, knowledge sharing, and concrete action are key to building a more sustainable future in research.