Sustainable labs

As you would expect, Environment & Geography take sustainability in all aspects of our work seriously. Laboratories are responsible for producing a significant percentage of a university’s carbon emissions by consuming up to ten times more energy and four times more water per square metre than other academic spaces. They also consume large amounts of plastic and it is estimated that they are responsible for generating around 2% of plastic waste worldwide.

It is a key responsibility for all university staff and students to minimise the negative environmental impacts of laboratory-based research and education; by reducing energy consumption, plastic waste, water consumption and more, to help us achieve our sustainability goals.

So, what can you do?

Fume hoods.

When a fume hood is not in use, the sash should be closed to conserve energy. Shutting a sash reduces energy consumption and carbon emissions by 40%!

Fridges, cold stores and freezers are highly energy intensive and can account for up to 5% of total laboratory energy consumption.

Some of this energy-intensive space is used for storing unclaimed, unwanted or obsolete samples. So, please help us to maximise the cold storage by disposing of your samples promptly at the end of your experiment, labelling your samples adequately and using our sample and material tracking log to minimise the need to purchase additional fridge and freezer space.

Plastic centrifuge tubes don't have to be single use or end up in landfill.  They can be emptied, dishwashed and reused.  The laboratory store ENV/119 has a stock of cleaned centrifuge tubes that are free to use. Any centrifuge tubes that are showing signs of wear (cracks or deformation of the tip) can be cleaned and recycled via the green polypropylene plastic recycling bins located outside ENV/214.

We will be adding more information here soon, so please check back regularly. If you have any questions or ideas, we would love to hear from you.