Our University鈥檚 laboratories have been awarded three more silver awards for their exemplary actions undertaken to improve sustainability practices under the 鈥�or LEAF.听听
LEAF is a green lab award scheme developed by University College London (UCL) to help lab managers, technical staff, academics and students address sustainability issues in the labs that they work in.听
Since the University signed up to LEAF in 2021, there have been four silver and 27 bronze awards. You can find the鈥�.听
These latest awards were won by the Biomedical Imaging Unit, Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (both in the School of Clinical and Experimental Sciences) and the Harrowven Group in the School of Chemistry.听
Our University is committed to sustainability. Cutting across Goals , and of the is work around sustainability in laboratories, ensuring everything we do in research and education considers its environmental impact.听
Peter Morgan, Technical Manager in the School of Geography and Environmental Science, who played a lead role in encouraging labs to engage with LEAF, says:听听
鈥淟aboratories are workplaces that often have a high carbon footprint due to the complex activities undertaken in them. Scientific equipment can use a lot of energy and a lot of waste can be produced, for example, many labs will use single-use plastics.鈥�听
鈥淢any people feel they want to help make the University more sustainable, but addressing issues in labs can be daunting.鈥�鈥痠s a toolkit developed specifically to help those working in labs address sustainability issues in their workplaces.鈥�听听
Being part of LEAF means that you also have the support of colleagues from across the University. There is a鈥�鈥痺here you can share ideas, swap unwanted lab equipment and gain support for making your lab more sustainable.听听
Going forward we encourage all our labs to work towards LEAF awards. Using the calculators in LEAF will allow us to quantify the energy used in laboratories and measure the impact of behaviour changes implemented. If you work in one of our labs and want to register with LEAF to make a positive change, contact鈥�Peter Morgan鈥痜辞谤鈥�.听听听听
Coming up we plan to work with our suppliers to reduce the carbon footprint of our supply chains, starting with a talk by laboratory supplies company, VWR on 11 March 11.30-12.30 in Building 100 room 5015, all are welcome to attend.听
In the April edition of Staff Matters鈥痺e鈥檒l talk to some of our technical staff who worked hard to achieve these recent silver awards.听
To learn more about what our University is doing to embed sustainability in everything we do, read about our .