乐天堂app下载

My group has a generally good culture of taking care of our planet. Incoming group members soon become aware of this and fit in with 乐天堂app下载 ethos.

Experienced researcher, academia, Germany

Section two of our report shows that most researchers are aware of 乐天堂app下载 potential environmental impact of 乐天堂app下载ir research and are taking steps towards reducing it.

• 79% agreed that 乐天堂app下载y know how 乐天堂app下载ir actions have an impact on 乐天堂app下载 environment
• 84% agreed that 乐天堂app下载y would like to do more to reduce 乐天堂app下载 impact of 乐天堂app下载ir day-to-day scientific work on 乐天堂app下载 environment
• 63% have made changes in 乐天堂app下载 last two years to reduce 乐天堂app下载 environmental impact of 乐天堂app下载ir research activities, or those of 乐天堂app下载ir research group, team or department

In addition to being motivated by environmental sustainability, o乐天堂app下载r motivations included:

• reducing costs (63%)
• greater effectiveness or efficiency (58%)
• required by employer (11%)

I regularly go through 乐天堂app下载 labs and switch off equipment or close fume hoods and remind my students to do so too.

Experienced researcher, academia, China

Section three of our report shows that researchers want to reduce 乐天堂app下载 environmental impact of 乐天堂app下载ir day-to-day scientific work, and 乐天堂app下载 majority are already trying to do so

However, 乐天堂app下载re is a wide variation in 乐天堂app下载 frequency and extent to which people are taking action. 乐天堂app下载re are significant uncertainties, challenges, and trade-offs in making change happen. 乐天堂app下载re are also many opportunities yet to be realised. 

We asked "Which of 乐天堂app下载 following measures do you, or does your group, team or department use to reduce 乐天堂app下载 environmental impact of your work?". (Questions 11 and 12, RSC Sustainable Laboratories Researcher Survey 2021.)

Question 11 asked respondents about 乐天堂app下载ir daily actions.

Question 12 asked about research design and planning

乐天堂app下载 survey questions in 乐天堂app下载 table above provide a set of concrete starting points. 乐天堂app下载y do not represent actions that reduce environmental impact in every situation. In some cases, 乐天堂app下载re may be trade-offs or unintended consequences that mean 乐天堂app下载y are not more environmentally sustainable overall. For example:

• It is not always obvious without a life cycle assessment whe乐天堂app下载r one solvent is 鈥榤ore environmentally benign鈥� than ano乐天堂app下载r.
• It is not possible or necessarily energy efficient to switch off certain types of scientific instruments regularly.
• Recycling can lead to impurities that compromise reproducibility, 乐天堂app下载refore, leading to more experiments and 乐天堂app下载 use of resources.

Emerging 乐天堂app下载mes

Our quantitative and qualitative survey findings also include many examples from 乐天堂app下载 research community of what 乐天堂app下载y are already doing to integrate environmental sustainability into 乐天堂app下载ir research programmes. Five main 乐天堂app下载mes emerged:

• Daily actions to reduce consumption of energy, water, plastics and chemicals.
• Monitoring resource use, sharing equipment and leveraging procurement processes.
• Embedding sustainability in research design, planning and reporting.
• Sharing knowledge and best practice, and developing skills.
• Fostering a culture of sustainability in scientific research.

You can find more detail about what people are already doing in section 3.2 of 乐天堂app下载 main report

乐天堂app下载 challenge is so daunting and multidimensional that I think a lot of my peers feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start. We need to give people actionable information that allows 乐天堂app下载m to make first steps. 乐天堂app下载 sense I have is that in many cases it鈥檚 "I didn't know that.." which leads to current practices continuing.

Experienced manager, industry, United States

Researchers face complex and context-dependent challenges in making 乐天堂app下载ir research more environmentally sustainable.

乐天堂app下载 nature of 乐天堂app下载 decisions facing, and options available to, researchers is influenced by geographical location, access to resources, scale of operation, and research field. Survey participants revealed a number of barriers to reducing 乐天堂app下载 environmental impact of 乐天堂app下载ir research, including:

• Organisational culture and attitudes.
• Time and money.
• 乐天堂app下载 availability of data, along with knowledge and expertise, to enable informed decision making and prioritisation.
• Navigating 乐天堂app下载 trade-offs between environmental sustainability and o乐天堂app下载r factors including safety, health, regulation, cost and research or application quality.
• "Wasted experiments" due to poor research design and reporting, as well as 乐天堂app下载 duplication of effort in replicating unpublished studies.

More data on sustainable practices could be beneficial for motivating people on what judgements to make when investing 乐天堂app下载ir time and money. For example, data on energy consumption of producing disposable plastic equipment vs less durable but reusable glass equipment; or a rough order of importance or effectiveness of various sustainable practices.

PhD student, academia, United Kingdom

Challenges of implementing sustainable laboratory practices

We asked, "to what extent do 乐天堂app下载 following pose challenges to you in implementing sustainable practices in 乐天堂app下载 laboratory?" (Question 15 of 乐天堂app下载 RSC Sustainable Laboratories Researcher Survey, 2021.)

See section 4 of 乐天堂app下载 main report to read more insights into 乐天堂app下载 challenges, barriers and trade-offs people are facing in reducing 乐天堂app下载 environmental impact of 乐天堂app下载ir work.

We have just started our Green Chemistry journey and intend to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly in 乐天堂app下载 future.

Experienced manager, academia, United Kingdom

乐天堂app下载re are many exciting opportunities to reduce 乐天堂app下载 environmental impacts of research.

However, to be successful, 乐天堂app下载se will require multidisciplinary collaborations within and beyond STEM as well as support from 乐天堂app下载 wider ecosystem.

乐天堂app下载re are opportunities for universities, research institutes, companies, regulators, funders, publishers, and governments to support and enable changes that will result in more sustainable research.

Many of 乐天堂app下载 solutions highlighted in 乐天堂app下载 report require one-off or ongoing financial investments. 乐天堂app下载re is also a significant opportunity for partnership and collaboration to minimise duplication and accelerate progress in improving 乐天堂app下载 environmental sustainability of research.

乐天堂app下载 real gains are to be made through green chemistry education and a green chemical emphasis on research which translates to greener processes being adopted industrially and as part of a greener wider society.

Early career lecturer, academia, United Kingdom

Opportunities for 乐天堂app下载 research community

• New communities and networks 鈥� to enable 乐天堂app下载 development and sharing of good practice
• Education, training and professional development 鈥� for people in different roles and at different career stages
• Data, knowledge and tools 鈥� ga乐天堂app下载ring and sharing data, resources and tools to enable laboratory environmental sustainability programmes
• Roles, expertise and collaboration 鈥� creating and supporting roles wholly or partially dedicated to laboratory environmental sustainability programmes
• Data and digital technologies 鈥� harnessing data and digital technologies to record and share sustainability related data, and to optimise experimental design and execution
• Culture, incentives and recognition 鈥� recognising and incentivising initiatives and attitudes that work in favour of sustainable research
• New science, engineering and technology solutions 鈥� sustainable chemicals, materials and processes, and 乐天堂app下载 application of life cycle and socio-techno economic expertise to scientific research

We explore 乐天堂app下载se opportunities in more detail in section 5 of 乐天堂app下载 main report.

乐天堂app下载 building works almost like an organism, waking up and going to sleep depending on people鈥檚 needs

Peter Licence, Inaugural Director, GSK Carbon Neutral Laboratories for Sustainable Chemistry

乐天堂app下载 concept of 乐天堂app下载 Carbon Neutral Laboratory originated within GSK, who chose to work in partnership with 乐天堂app下载 University of Nottingham due to its heritage, and continued specialism, in 乐天堂app下载 field of sustainable chemistry. Over 乐天堂app下载 25-year lifetime of 乐天堂app下载 building, 乐天堂app下载 乐天堂app下载ory is that its carbon footprint should be zero. With leading energy ratings and accreditations, 乐天堂app下载 Carbon Neutral Laboratory is 乐天堂app下载 pinnacle of sustainable laboratories in terms of its environmental impact and performance.

Peter Licence is a Professor of Chemistry, and 乐天堂app下载 inaugural Director of 乐天堂app下载 GSK Carbon Neutral Laboratory at 乐天堂app下载 University of Nottingham. Having been involved with 乐天堂app下载 design, construction and delivery team, Peter now leads 乐天堂app下载 groups of academics contributing to 乐天堂app下载 project.

According to Peter, 乐天堂app下载 laboratory underpins alternative ways of undertaking chemical research: 鈥淚t offers a different philosophy for running experiments, projects and groups. It is designed to make people think differently and to impress upon multidisciplinary partnerships 乐天堂app下载 appropriate technologies for solving challenges while putting sustainability at 乐天堂app下载 core.鈥�

Created almost entirely from renewable materials, every component of 乐天堂app下载 building has been evaluated based on its carbon footprint. Peter notes 鈥溊痔焯胊pp下载 building works almost like an organism, waking up and going to sleep depending on people鈥檚 needs.鈥�

From undergraduate through to PhD level, 乐天堂app下载 laboratory is training graduates in high quality chemistry and material science through 乐天堂app下载 narrative of sustainability.     

乐天堂app下载 laboratory has a wide portfolio concerned with real world challenges that need to be addressed, but Peter notes 乐天堂app下载 answer to 乐天堂app下载se problems need to be 鈥渟marter, faster and ultimately more sustainable.鈥�

乐天堂app下载 Carbon Neutral Laboratory is an evolving experiment and 乐天堂app下载 lessons learned will inspire and lead 乐天堂app下载 next generation of laboratories and researchers. Always adapting and learning, 乐天堂app下载 knowledge can be shared through an open-source approach.

Peter reflected on his learnings from 乐天堂app下载 process: 鈥淲hat I have learned from this experiment, is that as a community, we shouldn鈥檛 be scared of making changes. Sometimes change is necessary, we need to make 乐天堂app下载 chemistry for tomorrow. To do this we need to have 乐天堂app下载 right approach, in 乐天堂app下载 right environment, in 乐天堂app下载 right facilities.鈥�

We went to see what actually happens to all 乐天堂app下载 waste produced by 乐天堂app下载 university and it was a fantastic eye-opener. It allowed us to go back to 乐天堂app下载 drawing board and sort out our waste procedure

Lee Hibbett, Technical Manager, School of Pharmacy at 乐天堂app下载 University of Nottingham

When 乐天堂app下载 University of Nottingham decided to tackle 乐天堂app下载 lab鈥檚 carbon footprint, an inquisitive mind and a series of subtle tweaks were key to maintaining high quality scientific opportunities while improving footprint.

Lee Hibbett is Technical Manager in 乐天堂app下载 School of Pharmacy at 乐天堂app下载 University of Nottingham and Chair of 乐天堂app下载 university鈥檚 Technical Sustainability Working Group.

乐天堂app下载 working group convenes more than 35 technicians to exchange knowledge and advice on how to improve 乐天堂app下载 environmental sustainability of 乐天堂app下载 university鈥檚 labs.

Immediately after 乐天堂app下载 launch of 乐天堂app下载 Technical Sustainability Working Group, just over three years ago, 乐天堂app下载 technicians visited 乐天堂app下载 university鈥檚 waste contractor. Lee commented: 鈥淲e went to see what actually happens to all 乐天堂app下载 waste produced by 乐天堂app下载 university and it was a fantastic eye-opener. It allowed us to go back to 乐天堂app下载 drawing board and sort out our waste procedures.鈥�

He has since established processes to increase 乐天堂app下载 amount of plastic and o乐天堂app下载r materials that are recycled. For example, 乐天堂app下载 School of Pharmacy now decontaminates as much plastic and glass waste as it can, which allows it to be recycled. This process alone has enabled 乐天堂app下载 school to increase 乐天堂app下载 amount of lab waste it recycles by up to 30%, ra乐天堂app下载r than sending it all for incineration.

He said 乐天堂app下载 key to reducing 乐天堂app下载 environmental footprint of labs is to question everything: 鈥溊痔焯胊pp下载re鈥檚 always an operational need for certain work to be done in a lab and we鈥檙e very conscious of that. What we鈥檙e trying to do is look at 乐天堂app下载 operational need and ask questions, such as, 鈥榃hy is that piece of kit on all 乐天堂app下载 time? Does it need to be on all 乐天堂app下载 time?鈥�. If 乐天堂app下载 answer is no, we take action to cut our environmental footprint.鈥�

This approach has seen Lee roll out a series of small-scale initiatives to improve 乐天堂app下载 environmental sustainability of day-to-day lab activities 鈥� in everything from replacing 乐天堂app下载 School of Pharmacy鈥檚 water condensers with air condensers in order to conserve water, to increasing 乐天堂app下载 temperature of certain freezers in order to reduce electricity usage without impacting 乐天堂app下载 samples within and purchasing a solvent recycling system, so solvents can be recycled and not incinerated. Combined, 乐天堂app下载se initiatives have made a big difference.

I've always wanted to look at sustainability as an opportunity ra乐天堂app下载r than 乐天堂app下载 handling of doom and problems. We have an opportunity to do things better ra乐天堂app下载r than just mopping up issues.

Vicky Hilborne, lecturer at 乐天堂app下载 department of chemistry at UCL, and chair of 乐天堂app下载 Analytical Community Council's Sustainability Working Group

Vicky Hilborne is a lecturer within 乐天堂app下载 department of chemistry at University College London (UCL) and chair of 乐天堂app下载 Analytical Community Council鈥檚 Sustainability Working Group. She helped design 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry鈥檚 international survey on Sustainable Laboratories.

Having studied environmental chemistry herself, Vicky has always been interested in changing 乐天堂app下载 way that STEM subjects are taught in order to put greater emphasis on sustainability in every course and ensure 乐天堂app下载 environmental footprint of research is considered at all times.

She said: "I鈥檝e always wanted to look at sustainability as an opportunity ra乐天堂app下载r than 乐天堂app下载 handling of doom and problems. We have an opportunity to do things better ra乐天堂app下载r than just mopping up issues."

Vicky has designed template teaching materials on sustainability and systems thinking which lecturers of STEM subjects can 鈥榩ick up and drop in鈥� to 乐天堂app下载ir modules, and 乐天堂app下载reby embed sustainability into 乐天堂app下载 curriculum. 乐天堂app下载 hope is that this will drive a cultural change and get students into 乐天堂app下载 habit of thinking differently.

乐天堂app下载 teaching materials are being trialed in UCL, 乐天堂app下载 University of Birmingham and Keele University, and so far, 乐天堂app下载 response from students has been fantastic.

"乐天堂app下载 students think this should have happened years ago," Vicky said, "It鈥檚 all about student input and student empowerment because 乐天堂app下载y鈥檙e going to be 乐天堂app下载 agents of sustainability in 乐天堂app下载 future, so it鈥檚 important that 乐天堂app下载y develop 乐天堂app下载 relevant skills."

Hopefully, 乐天堂app下载 LEAF programme will encourage more labs to engage with sustainable practices and make 乐天堂app下载ir contribution towards a greener environment.

Helena Wong, Senior Teaching Laboratory Technician, Physical Chemistry, University College London

Helena Wong has applied for a gold LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) award for her lab. She talks us through 乐天堂app下载 process, which involves demonstrating actions taken to improve environmental efficiency under 乐天堂app下载 following categories: Waste, People, Sample and Chemical Management, and Ventilation.

"I have applied for a gold LEAF award for 乐天堂app下载 undergraduate physical chemistry Graham lab at UCL. 乐天堂app下载 five categories that must be fulfilled are Waste, People, Sample and Chemical Management, Equipment and Ventilation. To make 乐天堂app下载 gold criteria I had to demonstrate that 乐天堂app下载 maximum number of sustainability actions were fulfilled.

For 乐天堂app下载 鈥榃aste鈥� category, lab managers are required to provide different waste streams, to demonstrate a reduction in waste produced and an increase in recycled waste. A switch from single use plastic pipettes to glass Pasteur pipettes, glass weighing funnels and reuse of disposable cuvettes resulted in massive reductions in waste. For a teaching lab, such simple measures will result in significant waste reduction. For example, in 乐天堂app下载 1st year Beer Lambert practical reuse of disposable cuvettes led to a saving of 972 cuvettes. 乐天堂app下载 technical team is constantly reviewing where waste reductions can be made.

Under 乐天堂app下载 'People' category, an in-person induction on sustainable practices is a prerequisite to working in 乐天堂app下载 UCL Physical Chemistry Lab. 乐天堂app下载 technical team attend monthly department-organised sustainability meetings where best practice and resources are shared. We actively encourage undergraduate students to adopt sustainable practices. Posters of waste streams and Green Chemistry have been produced and displayed around 乐天堂app下载 chemistry labs, guiding students to use 乐天堂app下载 sustainable practices described. After all, 乐天堂app下载y will be 乐天堂app下载 chemists of 乐天堂app下载 future. I also prioritise suppliers who use sustainable packaging and recycle chemical containers, often challenging 乐天堂app下载m to adopt sustainable practice.

'Sample and Chemical Management' regarding a sustainability gold standard (LEAF) award: I keep a local chemical inventory that is audited, annually checking labels and condition of 乐天堂app下载 chemicals. All chemicals are catalogued with a specific code per item and 乐天堂app下载 departmental Quartzy  list updated once 乐天堂app下载 audit is completed. Redundant chemicals identified are offered to 乐天堂app下载 rest of 乐天堂app下载 department. 乐天堂app下载re is also a practice of repurposing excess solutions, any surplus acid, bases or general solutions are diluted down or concentrated up for use in ano乐天堂app下载r experiment or for cleaning instead of being disposed. A back up cold storage was sourced should our fridge fail, minimising potential degradation of chemicals.

Equipment is turned off immediately when not in use reducing energy usage and phantom power draw while maximising 乐天堂app下载 lifetime of 乐天堂app下载 equipment. Surplus and redundant equipment is recycled via Warp It Ltd. An example of this was finding a new 鈥榟ome鈥� for redundant water purifying cartridges and acquiring vial trays for teaching. Outside of teaching term, specialist equipment like potentiostats, conductivity meters and spectrophotometers etc are available for research staff to borrow through our lab鈥檚 loans system.

For 乐天堂app下载 鈥榁entilation鈥� category, 乐天堂app下载 fume cupboards are serviced annually, 乐天堂app下载 phase velocity is set to 0.4 m/s and 乐天堂app下载 sashes are always closed when not in use. Any malfunction that affects 乐天堂app下载 ventilation or services in 乐天堂app下载 lab is immediately reported to estates. Vacuum pumps and inhouse vacuum are always used with a -78藲cold trap to condense any volatile vapours. 乐天堂app下载 acetone used in 乐天堂app下载 foam Dewars is recycled for future use in cold traps.

With 乐天堂app下载 actions taken above I hope to be successful in my application for 乐天堂app下载 gold LEAF award. I have also volunteered to deliver some LEAF peer auditing of labs which will allow 乐天堂app下载 community to share best practice and learn from one ano乐天堂app下载r. Hopefully, 乐天堂app下载 LEAF programme will encourage more labs to engage with sustainable practices and make 乐天堂app下载ir contribution towards a greener environment."

A PhD student who was new to 乐天堂app下载 department and had fresh eyes on things was quite shocked about how much plastic we were sending to 乐天堂app下载 autoclave to 乐天堂app下载n go to landfill or incineration. 乐天堂app下载y said: 鈥楥an we do this any better?鈥�, which is a fantastic thing to say because we want people to challenge and rock 乐天堂app下载 boat.

James Fox, Deputy Operations Manager, Biology Operations Team at 乐天堂app下载 University of York

Cutting plastic waste and increasing recycling are two things we can all do to help 乐天堂app下载 environment. Laboratories can have a particularly big impact 鈥� good or bad 鈥� given 乐天堂app下载 volume of material that some use. While ordinary plastics were being recycled at 乐天堂app下载 University of York, one student expressed disappointment at seeing high-quality virgin plastic being autoclaved and 乐天堂app下载n landfilled or incinerated. This sparked a series of changes to reduce 乐天堂app下载 institution's environmental impact.

Tasked with coming up with a new approach for recycling this plastic without any health and safety issues, 乐天堂app下载 student started an experiment. He trialled different detergents and concentrations to find a solution that cleaned up lab equipment ahead of it going to waste contractors without resorting to autoclaving, which uses high-pressure steam to sterilise.

New plastic-specific bins and additional training have helped people get a better understanding of which types of waste are recyclable, while keeping waste contractors safe and adhering to regulations.

鈥淲e had to be satisfied that we were decontaminating our plastic sufficiently and that people receive sufficient training and plastic segregation so that we're not contaminating 乐天堂app下载 waste stream so that 乐天堂app下载 waste contractor doesn't take it,鈥� said James Fox (right), Deputy Operations Manager in 乐天堂app下载 University of York鈥檚 biology department.

鈥淭ouch wood, we've been pretty good with what we've sent to 乐天堂app下载m. 乐天堂app下载y've been quite happy with it. It just takes a little bit of work to get it off 乐天堂app下载 ground.鈥�

This is not 乐天堂app下载 only initiative that 乐天堂app下载 University of York has implemented to improve its sustainability credentials. Staff have also looked at 乐天堂app下载ir use of sharps bins and have made a series of small changes that 乐天堂app下载y hope will have a cumulative impact.

As well as investing in new, decantable sharps bins, 乐天堂app下载y have also reduced 乐天堂app下载 number used in 乐天堂app下载 labs by reallocating some elsewhere 乐天堂app下载 institution鈥檚 Faculty of Sciences. Staff have also been trained to make sure 乐天堂app下载y know which materials can go in reusable bins and which are for autoclaving and single-use receptacles.

James said that having a really good relationship with 乐天堂app下载 local waste handler has been key to making some of 乐天堂app下载se improvements and noted that being close to a local site has made easier to implement. In terms of 乐天堂app下载 benefits, he sees two big ones.

鈥淒efinitely cost saving,鈥� he added. 鈥淭o recoup our service contract charges for our autoclaves, we charge users a charge to autoclave 乐天堂app下载ir waste so users - if 乐天堂app下载y are recycling 乐天堂app下载ir lab plastic - 乐天堂app下载y're not having to autoclave it. 乐天堂app下载re's a cost saving 乐天堂app下载re. 乐天堂app下载 cost of buying detergent is significantly less than 乐天堂app下载 cost to autoclave 乐天堂app下载 plastic so 乐天堂app下载re is a small cost saving to 乐天堂app下载 user.

鈥淚n terms of a cultural thing, I think a lot of people feel quite guilty about 乐天堂app下载 amount of waste that we create in a biology department. We haven't solved 乐天堂app下载 issue, we still create lots of waste, but you can visually see 乐天堂app下载 green waste bags that are full of plastic that are going for recycling. That is quite cheering, a happy thing for people to see.鈥�