The Greener Trials project aims to reduce the carbon footprint of clinical trials. Funded by the Wellcome Trust, we are developing digital tools, including an open-access Greener Trials Toolkit, to identify high-emission areas (hotspots) in research and foster sustainable trials practices to help reduce them. The team is focussing on behavioural changes, identifying barriers to sustainability, collating the data and creating tools to help UK and international researchers calculate emissions from trials.
The Project has four main work streams, the details of which can be found below:
Work Stream 1
Team Members
- Dr Lisa Fox – Assistant Operations Director, Institute of Cancer Research Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit (ICR-CTSU)
- Professor Paula Williamson, MRC-NIHR Trials Methodology Research Partnership Lead (UoL)
- Jessica Griffiths – Sustainability Project Manager (ICR-CTSU)
- Matthew Simpson – IT Manager (ICR-CTSU)
- Joy Feng – Analyst Programmer (ICR-CTSU)
- Alan Mok – Analyst Programmer (ICR-CTSU)
Aims
Workstream 1 aims to speed up and simplify the data collection and evidence collation required to inform lower carbon trial design by:
- Developing an online, free to use, open access carbon calculator fit for purpose for publicly-funded trials: The Greener Trials Toolkit;
- Developing an open access, publicly accessible, annotated and referenced database of publicly funded clinical trial activities and emission factors for clinical trial activities;
- Develop a database of carbon footprinting results (with user consent), overseen by the Greener Trials Data Consortium and made available to the research community via data access request.
- Identifying opportunities for efficiencies and commonalities in tooling across industry, the Greener NHS and internationally;
- Considering the future strategy for developing new, maintaining existing and sharing country-specific carbon emissions factors.
Outputs to date
- Provision of monthly training for the publicly-funded trialist community to learn how to consider and calculate the carbon footprint of their trials via the “Carbon footprinting drop-in clinics”: 108 academic and publicly-funded trialists have attended monthly carbon footprinting drop-in clinics globally. 30 teams have gone on to complete carbon footprinting, and ~20 further teams in the process of conducting footprinting
- Development, maintenance and dissemination of clinical trial carbon footprinting guidance, data collection and calculation tools: “Detailed guidance and method to calculate the carbon footprint of a clinical trial (V0.6)”, “Data collation quick guide and worksheet” and “Activity data questionnaire”. All available via the TMRP Greener Trials webpage. Excel carbon calculator with automated calculations is available on request whilst Greener Trials Toolkit development is proceeding.
- Development of Guidance on the funding and implementation of carbon footprinting within publicly-funded clinical trials via The Northern Ireland Hub for Trials Methodology SWAT repository: SWAT 257 “Calculating and considering the carbon footprint of publicly funded clinical trials”. SWAT template added to the SWAT Repository Store
- Poster - Research outputs in Environmental Sustainability jointly run by the Medical Research Council (MRC), National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR), and Greener NHS at NHS England.
Work Stream 2
Team members:
- Professor Paula Williamson, MRC-NIHR Trials Methodology Research Partnership Lead (UoL)
- Dr Charlotte Sanders, Research Associate (UoL)
- Jennifer Sjulander, PhD student (UoL)
- Dr Lisa Fox, Assistant Operations Director (ICR-CTSU)
- Jessica Griffiths, Sustainability Project Manager (ICR-CTSU)
Aims:
- Analyse accumulating literature and data around carbon emissions and hotspots, sustainability and greener practices within clinical trials and clinical trial units.
- Identify and/or develop evidence-based mitigation strategies for carbon emission reduction in clinical trials.
- Build a strong network across trialists, academics, healthcare professionals, policy makers and the public to share sustainability insights.
Outputs:
- Analysis of the number of trials that have used the Greener Trials Toolkit resources, attended a drop in clinic and provided clinical trial footprinting data to build the evidence base of clinical trial carbon footprinting data ?
- Informative and evidence-based signposting document for mitigation strategies for carbon emission reduction in clinical trials (in progress).
- Evidence or heat map of the literature I have found be useful (in progress).
Work Stream 3
Aberdeen Centre for Evaluation, University of Aberdeen
Team members:
- Professor Katie Gillies (Chief Investigator, Aberdeen Centre for Evaluation)
- Dr Sharon McCann (Advanced Research Fellow, Aberdeen Centre for Evaluation)
- Abbie Stephen (Research Assistant, Aberdeen Centre for Evaluation)
- Dr Neza Javornik (Research Fellow, Aberdeen Centre for Evaluation)
Aims
This work stream aims to generate evidence on the views of key stakeholders around greener trials to identify opportunities for improvements in practice in future clinical research. Through focus groups with four key stakeholder groups (trial funders, regulators, NHS site staff and patients) the study will examine the barriers and facilitators to adopting greener approaches, guided by theoretical models from behavioural science.
Outputs to date: Research protocol pre-registered on Open Science Framework (DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/2XME5)
Work Stream 4
Team members
- Dr Nandi Siegfried, Chief Specialist Scientist, Mental Health, Alcohol, Substance use and Tobacco Research Unit (MASTRU); South African Medical Research Council.
- Samantha Siva, Research Manager, HIV and other Infectious Diseases Research Unit (HIDRU); South African Medical Research Council.
- Zakir Gaffoor, Research Manager, HIV and other Infectious Diseases Research Unit (HIDRU); South African Medical Research Council.
Aims
- To evaluate the Greener Trials toolkit by applying it to a local trial;
- To identify local publicly available emission factors for inclusion in the calculator;
- To identify key role-players working in trials and climate in sub-Saharan Africa; and
- Establish a sub-Saharan African Community of Practice of key role-players, in partnership with the European and Developing Country Clinical Trial Partnership (EDCTP).
Outputs
1. We completed an evaluation of the toolkit for applicability and adaptability in a local South African clinical trial. In doing so, we worked with a sustainability company to identify available local emission factors.
i) Presentation of initial findings at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Clinical Trials Day, 04 November 2025.
2) Identification and engagement of key role-players for evaluation of the toolkit:
i) We released an SAMRC Media Statement to relevant role-players in November 2025 and received many expressions of interest;
ii) We hosted the first of three webinars with interested role-players about carbon tracking and the Greener Trials project; and
iii) Engagement is ongoing, with plans to establish a Community of Practice in sub-Saharan Africa to further engage on the toolkit.
Key partnerships
European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP)
The Green House; TGH Think Space
University of Liverpool
University of Bordeaux
University of Cambridge
UK Hub for One Health Systems: Creating Sustainable Health and Social Care Pathways
MRC-NIHR TMRP Greener Trials Group
Institute of Cancer Research
University of Aberdeen
Liverpool Clinical Trials Centre
South African Medical Research Council
Sustainable Healthcare Coalition
NIHR Research Support Service Hub delivered by Lancaster University and partners
UKCRC CTU Sustainability Working Group
Getting It Right First Time
Greener NHS
