Sustainability at APS
Support for U. N. Sustainable Development Goals
APS supports the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the SDG Publisher's Compact. APS Chief Publications Officer Rachel Burley was named an SDG Fellow in 2023, demonstrating a dedication to sustainable practices and disseminating research on sustainability, including:
- Quality education, presented in our Physical Review Physics Education Research journal
- Affordable and clean energy, showcased in PRX Energy, which publishes research toward sustainable energy targets
- Industry, innovation, and infrastructure, explored in Physical Review Applied, which bridges the gaps between engineering and physics as well as academia and industry
Research highlights
Recent highlights from PRX Energy articles that focus on sustainability:
Sustainable initiatives at APS
Our initiatives further the sustainability of the physics community and the planet in ways that align with the SDG Compact goals of quality education, gender equality, reduced inequalities, affordable and clean energy, and climate action.
Quality education
Our physics education initiatives advance quality education by supporting physics departments, faculty, and K-12 teachers, as well as public engagement efforts to encourage a passion for physics in students and the public.
Gender equality and reduced inequalities
To support our values of diversity, inclusion, and respect, we support an array of programs aimed at rectifying historic inequities in physics by advancing the education and careers of women and gender minorities, as well as those of Black, Indigenous, and Latino scientists.
The Gender Inclusive Physics Community helps women and gender minority students connect and advance in their studies and careers.
NMC provides mentoring and resources for historically underrepresented physics undergrads and graduate students.
Funding activities and events to recruit and retain women in physics at the undergraduate level
This scholarship supports African American students seeking bachelor's degrees in physics and astronomy.
Affordable clean energy and climate action
The APS mission highlights our charge to advance scientific discovery and research dissemination, as well as to amplify the voice for science and communicate the essential role physics plays in today's world. Work in support of our mission includes advancing affordable, clean energy and climate action through our data-driven reports, statements, initiatives, public policy efforts, and our topical groups.
APS reports
The APS Panel on Public Affairs has compiled reports focused on sustainability and that guide our public policy and advocacy efforts.
This report lays out the issues facing researchers who use liquid helium and the negative impact on U.S. innovation. There is no replacement for liquid helium, and its essential role in the US scientific enterprise has been documented in multiple reports and statements by many esteemed scientific organizations.
Statements on clean energy and climate action
The APS Council of Representatives regularly issues statements that shape the public policy positions of the organization and inform our advocacy efforts, including those related to affordable clean energy and climate action.
The Council of the American Physical Society strongly advocates that the United States implement policies that promote conservation, efficiency, sustainability, resilience and innovation throughout the global energy system; make sustained and broad-based investments in research and development of long-lasting reduced-carbon and carbon-neutral energy cycles and technologies; and support research into means of reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases and heat-trapping emissions in the atmosphere.
The American Physical Society is profoundly concerned about the potential loss of the nation's accumulated helium reserves.
This critical issue poses the risk of significant environmental, social and Earth’s climate is changing.
The American Physical Society has a long-standing interest in the establishment of a technically sound national energy policy.
Climate and sustainability efforts
We're working to advance climate science and sustainability by providing our members with opportunities to meet and connect in support of their work.
We advocate for national standards to monitor methane emissions, which will enable effective industry action and data-driven methane reduction policies.
This member-organized APS unit advances knowledge concerning the physics, measurement, and modeling of climate processes.
GERA fosters connections among physicists, engineers, and educators active in the generation, transmission, storage, and efficient use of energy.