Improving Laboratory Sustainability

Challenge

Scientific research has a significant environmental impact from energy, water, and materials. Lab spaces use between 5-10 times the energy than an office of the same size. While sustainability initiatives such as the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) offer structured guidance, we found numerous fundamental gaps in identifying, and quantifying the benefits of, best practices for sustainable laboratory operations. Presumptions of what is more sustainable can influence the choices researchers make each day on how best to heat, cool, analyse, dispose, reuse, and test. Identifying and validating optimal strategies for reducing research-related environmental impacts is crucial for sustainable research which can drive innovations for a sustainable future.

Solution

With funding secured through an RSC Sustainable Labs grant, we aimed to assess and implement sustainable laboratory practices through a combination of experimental, analytical, and life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies. Key initiatives included:

1. Evaluating Green Solvents – Investigating the use of biobased solvents in gel permeation chromatography to assess their efficacy and environmental impacts to reduce the footprint of polymer analysis.
2. Laboratory Heating Energy Use – Analysing the energy consumption of benchtop heating media (oil bath, bead bath and heating blocks) and quantifying the impact on energy efficiency and the embodied carbon when applying foil covering.
3. Reusable Glassware – Using life cycle analysis to examine the environmental and practical impacts of reusing so-called “disposable” glassware in laboratory settings.

Impact

The initial findings of this project are already helping to shape evidence-based best practices for more sustainable laboratory operations.

• Encourage vial reuse where possible. Life cycle analysis shows that can cleaning and reusing vials can significantly lower environmental impacts.
• Foil coverings can reduce the energy consumption but must be reused 10 times to be environmentally beneficial.
• Biobased solvents can be applied to GPC, although their use can result in higher environmental impacts.