Environmental sustainability in basic research. A perspective from HECAP+

The climate crisis and the degradation of the world's ecosystems require humanity to take immediate action. The international scientific community has a responsibility to limit the negative environmental impacts of basic research. The HECAP+ communities (High Energy Physics, Cosmology, Astroparticle Physics, and Hadron and Nuclear Physics) make use of common and similar experimental infrastructure, such as accelerators and observatories, and rely similarly on the processing of big data. Our communities therefore face similar challenges to improving the sustainability of our research. This document aims to reflect on the environmental impacts of our work practices and research infrastructure, to highlight best practice, to make recommendations for positive changes, and to identify the opportunities and challenges that such changes present for wider aspects of social responsibility. For forewords to this document, see the arXiv version or visit https://sustainable-hecap-plus.github.io/. The content of this publication has not been approved by the United Nations and does not reflect the views of the United Nations or its officials or Member States. Details of the UN Sustainability Development Goals, referenced in this work, can be found at refs. [39, 41].