Environmental sustainability is a growing concern among researchers, especially those of us making intensive use of computing resources in our work. The goal of this conference is to bring together researchers across disciplines (life sciences, physics, astronomy, engineering, AI, computer science, chemistry, environmental sciences, digital humanities and any other you can think of!) to discuss the challenges, share best practices, and showcase great efforts in this space.

Computing plays a vital role in many areas of research: supporting modelling, simulation and data analysis across disciplines (from literature and economics, to medicine and astrophysics). Its use has a significant negative impact on the environment; from raw material extraction and processing, through operational energy use, to its decommissioning and reuse/recycling. The continuous demand for more computing power and bigger datasets suggests these environmental impacts will continue to grow, unless synergies between sustainable research practices, resource optimisation, and impact mitigation are recognised and exploited.

All research communities have a responsibility to limit the environmental impacts of their activities, and there is a pressing need for a coordinated and interdisciplinary focus on computing impacts. This conference aims to facilitate knowledge exchange between data-intensive disciplines, allowing the sharing of best practice, the development of common resources, and the catalysis of new interdisciplinary collaborations.

Topics covered in this conference will include (but are not limited to!):

  • Estimation and monitoring of environmental impacts and energy usage of computing,
  • responsible use of computing hardware (sustainable procurement, extending and optimising use phase, responsible disposal),
  • resource-efficient software,
  • carbon-aware scheduling,
  • FAIR and effective data sharing, storage and curation,
  • addressing the rebound effect,
  • community building and training,
  • general and field-specific best practices, and
  • changing user behaviour and incentivising sustainable computing practices (addressing e.g. external drivers).
Any questions? You can reach out to us at [email protected]

Registration

Registration is now open until 10 April 2026. Get your early-bird tickets for a discounted rate only until 27 February 2026.

Call for submissions

We invite researchers, computing professionals, sustainability practitioners, and policy makers to submit abstracts to present their work at the conference through oral presentations, posters and/or short interactive sessions on a topic of their choice. The main call for abstracts have closed, but we will continue to consider talks and sessions proposals on a rolling basis until we’ve finalised the programme. Any late-breaking ideas? Feel free to submit an abstract below!
Note there will be no formal proceedings for this first edition of SC4RC 2026. Please feel free to present published research, or work that will be submitted for publication elsewhere. The conference output will be compiled and published as a position paper co-authored by the conference participants.

Organising Committee

Anica Araneta University of Cambridge, UK
Auroop Ganguly Northeastern University, Boston, USA
Grant Hill University of Sheffield, UK
Loïc Lannelongue (Co-Chair) University of Cambridge, UK
Rakhi Mahbubani (Co-Chair) Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Croatia
Peter Millington University of Manchester, UK
Ayan Paul Northeastern University, Boston, USA
Karolos Potamianos University of Warwick, UK
Markus Schulz CERN, Switzerland

Support and Endorsements

This conference is made possible with the support and endorsement of a number of international research organisations across disciplines:

CERN SPS EMBL EMBO