Diamond Light Source - Annual Review 2022/23

88 89 D I A M O N D L I G H T S O U R C E A N N U A L R E V I E W 2 0 2 2 / 2 3 D I A M O N D L I G H T S O U R C E A N N U A L R E V I E W 2 0 2 2 / 2 3 Diamond’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy D iamond SHE Group, in consultation with Diamond employees, has developed an Environmental Sustainability Strategy and action plan, aligning with Diamond’s Ten Year Vision, which has sustainability at its core and is geared towards achieving this across its operations. The strategy is guided by the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals and Diamond is fully committed to the Paris Climate agreement – 100% carbon neutrality by 2050. At Diamond we are optimistic and proud of our contribution to supporting research and innovation that is developing solutions to better understand and address global environmental sustainability challenges. Diamond has a strong track-record in enhancing its own environmental performance. Our Safety, Health & Environment Policy states that the effective management of Environmental matters is of prime importance to the organisation. As such, we undertake to provide an environmentally sound workplace. This includes a commitment to continuous improvement in environmental performance and the setting of objectives. The recently developed strategy sets out bold ambitions and priorities to further enhance operational environmental performance and better support research and innovation that has a positive environmental sustainability impact. By pursuing extensive sustainability goals, we are not only acting responsibly toward the environment and society – we are also ensuring the long-term sustainability of Diamond as a national facility. The strategy divides environmental sustainability into three areas; Research, operations and compliance. Research Impact : These are areas where Diamond is having a positive impact on sustainability through the research and technology development that we facilitate. Our strategy is to maximise the positive impact of these areas. Our Diamond-II infrastructure upgrade programmes has enhancements to these positive impacts at the centre, with the primary commitment of the strategy focusing on directly addressing the Government’s Industrial Strategy Grand Challenges of clean growth, mobility and an ageing society. This also includes addressing climate change challenges. Sustainability research areas at Diamond include: • New batteries : to reduce the carbon footprint linked to the exploitation of batteries and particularly batteries involving rare earth materials, researchers are working on all the elements of a battery: electrolytes, anode, cathode, interface of all the elements. The goal is to limit or even replace the usage of lithium with safer, and more abundant materials (Sodium for example). • Hydrogen production: To reduce the usage of fossil fuel and limit the production of CO 2 or other atmospheric pollution, new ways to produce Hydrogen are being developed by researchers. This will allow the production of H 2 more efficiently, with less cost involved (photocatalysis, or usage of bioreactors with a neutral cost). • Photovoltaic development: The sun is a limitless source of energy for our societies. Nevertheless, researchers are searching new ways to improve the energy production from photovoltaic panels, including new materials (Perovskites or other materials) or increasing the efficiency of existing materials (with an increased absorption window). • Plastic depollution: Plastic pollution has dramatic consequences for the environment. Researchers are working on new enzymes (PETase) to degrade microplastic, reducing plastic pollution and allowing the production of valuable molecules at the same time. • Atmospheric pollution: Research has been conducted at Diamond to understand the ageing and decay of aerosols produced by human activities such as cooking, a source of pollution in large cities. • Radioactive pollution: Different events such as nuclear testing or Reactor meltdown (Fukushima -Daichi, for example) has causedmajor environmental pollution by radioactive elements. Diamond beamlines are used to understand how the soil is reacting to radioactive pollution and what can be the short- and long-term impact to such pollution. • Ecosystemevolution: Fragile environments such as coral reefs aremodified following direct or indirect human activities Synchrotron studies help to understand the evolution of such environments, and how to protect them. • Pollution remediation: Human activities can produce local or global pollution, that can be detrimental for the environment. Researchers are developing new materials to remove toxic elements such as Arsenic or sulphur; or characterising already existing organisms such as algae to understand how they can accumulate toxic elements (Cadmium, for example) • Green chemistry: Scientists are working on new enzymes to enhance the production of valuable molecules with a lower environmental cost. In a comparable manner, enzymes or other materials such as Metal-Organic Framework are modified to process abundant molecules resulting from human activities such as lignin or CO 2 into useful compounds. Operational Impact : These are areas related to the operation of Diamond that have impacts on environmental sustainability, such as energy usage. Our strategy is to limit the impact of these areas through a commitment to continual improvement of our performance. Our approach to continuous improvement will be underpinned by adoption of best practice, regular review, and evaluation, monitoring of progress and the identification of areas for development. Through investment in a wide range of energy saving measures, such as variable speed drives on pumping equipment, motion sensors on lighting and LED light bulbs, Diamond has already achieved ongoing electricity savings of over £1million per annum and continues to identify areas of improvement. The primary focus for energy and resource usage is to work towards ‘net-zero’ carbon emissions for our directly managed operations by 2040. Other primary focus areas relating to operational impact include working towards an ambition of zero avoidable waste by 2050; working towards eliminating all avoidable plastic waste by 2042, with earliest possible eliminationdates as alternatives and technologies become feasible; developing a procurement culture which prompts staff to consider environmental responsibility and sustainability in their purchasing decisions; and developing sustainable design policies contributing to an environmentally sustainable facility, for the present and future. The key commitments of our strategy for sustainable operations include the following: Decision Making & Engagement: We will embed environmental sustainability objectives into Diamond Executive’s objectives and business plans. Energy Resource and Usage: We will perform annual reviews of energy usage metrics, purchasing options and travel related carbon emissions to set reduction targets and select the greenest viable supply sources. Waste: We will minimise waste, reuse materials as much as we can and manage materials at the end of their life to minimise the impact on the environment. Sustainable Design: We will optimise the leadership contribution of sustainable design to contribute towards an environmentally sustainable facility, for the present and the future. Compliance Impact : These are areas where environmental sustainability requirements are mandated by legislation or guidance, for example, environmental permits and authorisations. Our strategy is to continue to control the impact from these areas through our management system and robust procedures and processes. Related publications: Wang, X. et al. Atomically dispersed pentacoordinated-zirconium catalyst with axial oxygen ligand for oxygen reduction reaction Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 61 , e202209746. (2022) DOI: 10.1002/anie.202209746 Potter, M. et al . Combining photocatalysis and optical fiber Technology toward improved microreactor design for hydrogen generation with metallic nanoparticles. ACS Photonics 7 , 3 (2020) DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.9b01577 Taddei, M. et al. Ethylenediamine addition improves performance and suppresses phase instabilities in mixed-halide perovskites. ACS Energy Lett. 7 , 12, (2022) DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.2c01998. Erickson, E. et al. Sourcing thermotolerant poly(ethylene terephthalate) hydrolase scaffolds from natural diversity. Nat Commun. 13 , 7850 (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35237-x Milsom, A. et al. The impact of molecular self-organisation on the atmospheric fate of a cooking aerosol proxy, Atmos. Chem. Phys. 22 , 4895–4907, DOI: 10.5194/acp-22-4895-2022, 2022. Cook, M. et al. The nature of Pu-bearing particles from the Maralinga nuclear testing site, Australia. Sci Rep 11 , 10698 (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021- 89757-5 Smith, G.L. et al. Reversible coordinative binding and separation of sulfur dioxide in a robust metal–organic framework with open copper sites. Nat. Mater. 18 , 1358–1365 (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41563-019-0495-0 Thorpe, T.W. et al. Multifunctional biocatalyst for conjugate reduction and reductive amination. Nature 604 , 86–91 (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022- 04458-x