Practical Tips for Improving Lab Sustainability

Modern science has brought many life-improving technologies, medicines and innovations to the world. Continual improvements include the use of robots in surgery that improve medical outcomes, technologies such as artificial intelligence that accelerate material and chemical development and innovations that support the fight against climate change, such as the impressive improvements in solar panel efficiency and battery storage. All these innovations required research and design in a laboratory setting. This would have involved a lot of trial and error across multiple testing regimes, scale-up experiments and eventually commercialization. Modern science laboratories, along with the techniques and processes they use to innovate, can result in high carbon footprints. This can exacerbate the climate crisis, regardless of the innovations produced.

This article outlines what lab sustainability entails, the benefits of becoming a more sustainable lab and provides 10 practical tips to improve lab sustainability.

What is lab sustainability?

The high carbon footprint typical of a lab space is due to multiple factors, including high energy usage and large volumes of waste. Labs generally use four to five times the energy of a similarly sized commercial space,¹ and scientific research alone accounts for 2% of global plastic waste.²

Labs tend to use a lot of energy due to equipment such as fume cupboards, low-temperature freezers and computers for modelling. Single-use plastic consumables, including personal protective equipment, also create a high carbon footprint from their creation, packaging, delivery and disposal. Some labs also use large volumes of chemicals and high-quality water during research, which further increases overall emissions.

The good news is that laboratories can take steps to reduce the environmental impact of their activities. These range from large refurbishment projects of the lab buildings themselves to changes in behavior and practices. There will be at least one or two actions that every lab can take.

Benefits of lab sustainability

The benefits of lab sustainability are wide-ranging. The most obvious benefit is that the carbon footprint of the lab will be reduced, and therefore the carbon emissions from the lab and associated activities will be lower. This will then help countries and the world meet the ambitious net-zero targets that are set. The UK, for example, has the target to be net zero carbon by 2050.³

Some of the broader benefits of a lab becoming more sustainable are cost savings and commercial benefits.

Cost savings that can be achieved as a result of sustainable initiatives include:

• Reduced utility bills (electricity, gas and water) achieved through efficiency projects.
• Reduced spending on single-use consumables purchased through replacement with alternatives such as glass.
• Reduced spending on high-cost chemicals through improved inventory management.
• Utilizing lower-quality water where possible, which has a lower cost to produce or purchase.
• Reduced hazardous waste, which has a higher cost to dispose of compared to other waste streams.

Commercial benefits that can be achieved as a result of sustainable initiatives include:

• Being able to evidence improvements in sustainability (through certification) may be a unique selling point that adds value to consumers.
• Increased process efficiency may decrease product costs and increase profits.
• Funders now frequently require proof of sustainable practices in any application.

How to achieve the above benefits will be explained in detail in the subsequent sections.

Approaches to achieving lab sustainability:

1. Optimize energy use in the laboratory

High energy usage in laboratories arises from a multitude of factors, including equipment used 24/7, such as fume cupboards and low-temperature freezers. Benchtop equipment can account for up to 25% of a lab's energy usage⁴ and should therefore not be forgotten. These need different mitigation strategies to reduce the carbon emissions associated with the lab's energy use.

For large pieces of equipment that will have a long lifetime and potentially be used 24/7 – like low-temperature freezers and fume cupboards –  labs should ensure that any new equipment is the most energy efficient on the market. This may result in a higher initial investment, but it will save money over the equipment's lifetime and reduce energy consumption. Shop around and do research before purchasing to ensure it’s the most energy-efficient available.

For bench-top equipment, ensuring that the lab has an end-of-day switch-off routine with brightly colored traffic light-style stickers for all plug sockets will ensure all equipment is off when not needed. Timer plugs can eliminate the manual step, but they are only viable for certain types of equipment.

2. Rethink cold storage practices

Regardless of whether fridges and freezers are replaced with the most efficient models, effective management of all cold storage systems will reduce energy consumption per model and save money on bills.

Defrosting your cold storage regularly will ensure it runs more efficiently, as the coils and seals will not be full of ice. It has been shown that ice-free freezers can save up to £160 per year, and ultra-low temperature freezers operate 10% more efficiently following a defrost.⁵

All cold storage facilities should have an inventory list on the door that details the samples and their locations. This reduces the time required to locate the sample. This also reduces the door opening time, an important factor in reducing energy consumption, as the unit will not have to use excess energy to return to the set temperature. This ensures the samples remain at a more consistent temperature.

For ultra-low temperature freezers specifically, increasing the temperature set point to –70 °C rather than –80 °C for all units uses approximately 30–40% less energy per unit.⁶ This would result in significant savings, especially if the lab has multiple units.

3. Reduce single-use plastics and consumables

The requirement for sterile consumables in a lab has resulted in a huge increase in plastic usage. Research labs alone use approximately 5.5 million tons of plastic per year.⁷ This can be addressed by reviewing all plastic products purchased and assessing whether there are alternatives available for use.

Single-use plastic beakers or pipettes are often used within lab processes, but these can be replaced with glass and washed between uses. If one researcher using traditional cell culture techniques switched from plastic to glassware, they would save 106 kg of CO₂ and almost £500 over 10 years.⁸ If this were scaled up across all cell culture research and other research processes, the impacts would be considerable. Suppliers are also now modifying the formulas of their products to reduce the amount of virgin plastic and incorporate recycled elements where possible. Switching to these alternatives will reduce the overall carbon footprint of the lab.

Reducing the volume of single-use plastic and consumables in a lab has the added benefit of reducing the volume of waste produced and, therefore, reducing waste costs.

4. Improve chemical waste management

Chemical waste is expensive to dispose of, and even with the best intentions, can still pollute the environment if not disposed of correctly. The best way to tackle this problem is to reduce the volume of chemical waste produced in the first place. A reduction in chemical waste will also reduce carbon emissions, as the disposal routes are energy-intensive for hazardous and chemical waste.

One of the easiest ways to reduce chemical waste is to ensure that you have an up-to-date inventory. This means that chemicals will be used within the required date because they can be found and not disposed of unnecessarily. Another benefit of a chemical inventory is ensuring you do not order more than you need or a duplicate of something you already have.

Other options to reduce the volume of chemical waste include switching to microscale chemistry, which also saves time. If microscale is not feasible, check whether the 12 principles of Green Chemistry techniques can be applied (Figure 1). One chemistry department was able to reduce its usage of seven hazardous chemicals by half in just two years following these principles.⁹

Figure 1. The 12 principles of Green Chemistry as outlined by Dr. John Warner and Dr. Paul Anastas in their book, Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice. Credit: Technology Networks.

5. Conserve water in lab operations

Many labs use a large volume of water for everyday activities, such as washing glassware, operating cooling systems and using autoclaves. Good practice is to ensure that glassware washers and autoclaves are only used when full. This means the equipment runs more efficiently and reduces the number of cycles required.

In life sciences or chemical labs, some processes require a recirculating water system to keep reactants cool, especially during long reflux reactions. The traditional method involves connecting to a tap, and once the water has passed through the experimental loop, it is directed straight into the drain. This is a large waste of water. More modern methods use air condensers or recirculating water loops with a chiller to reduce water use.

In biological settings, high-quality water may be required, which is intensive to produce. It is therefore important that this water is only used when needed for the experiment or process, rather than as a standard.

6. Implement green procurement policies and sustainable certification programs

Sustainability must be incorporated throughout all lab procedures, including procurement. Choosing a more sustainable supplier can directly reduce a lab's carbon emissions.

To ensure this choice is considered, one suggestion is that all tenders for equipment, consumables and chemicals, etc., should include questions about environmental sustainability. Ask suppliers what actions they are planning to take to increase the sustainability of the products and the company itself, such as:

• Do they have a net-zero target and a pathway to achieve this?
• Are they looking at increasing the recycled content in products?
• Are they reducing the impact of the packaging by switching to cardboard?

Some suppliers will also offer take-back schemes for products and packaging, which should be prioritized over suppliers that don’t offer this service. This will reduce the lab's waste costs and carbon emissions relating to waste and should therefore be included in any procurement decisions.

7. Design and retrofit green lab spaces

Lab space itself, as well as the surrounding building and space utilization, can determine how many sustainability interventions can be implemented. Older buildings’ heating and lighting systems may need to be replaced to be more efficient, and this might be beyond the control of lab members. If, for example, the lab did not have LED lighting but wanted to retrofit this to save energy, they could build a business case and request that this be carried out by the relevant estates and facilities team. Another retrofit that can benefit older labs is the installation of smart building management systems, which can control ventilation and heating according to different times and seasons. Both require investment but will increase the lab's sustainability over time and reduce the running costs.

Retrofitting current labs will only reduce the carbon emissions to a certain level, but this is helpful to carry out until the lab reaches the end of its life and needs to be demolished and replaced. New labs and buildings have the advantage of being a blank slate that can align with sustainable initiatives such as BREEAM and LEED certification. 

8. Encourage a culture of sustainability among staff

One of the most challenging changes to becoming a more sustainable lab is to foster a culture of sustainability as a green thread through everything that’s done. This means that sustainability should be included in the lab's induction and be a standing agenda item in team meetings for ideas to be brought forward and explored.

A network of champions across an organization can help shift the culture towards sustainability, and these champions can support any campaigns that are run, such as a switch-off campaign. The champions should have their own committee meeting to discuss any barriers and how to overcome them. The lab could also create an internal reward or award system for sustainable labs or sign up to an external sustainable lab certification scheme, such as LEAF or My Green Lab. These certification schemes give labs criteria to work towards, but they require someone to take the lead and drive forward the change, as without this green leader, the carbon reduction from these schemes can vary greatly.¹⁰

9. Track and benchmark sustainability performance

Scientists and researchers will want to know the value of the impact of any of the sustainability initiatives carried out. This will include graphics and updates on total carbon emissions, as well as individual initiatives, such as recycling rates, chemical waste volume and energy used by the lab. This feedback loop also motivates colleagues in the lab to continue with the initiative, as they can see progress instead of losing interest and reverting to old habits.

The first thing to do is to baseline the lab space in terms of electricity, gas, water, waste and any other factors that contribute to the carbon footprint. Measure usage over one month, then implement changes and monitor the improvement. If there are more than one lab space undergoing the initiatives, having a baseline for all of them and comparing the progress of each lab will encourage healthy competition.

Members of the lab who are part of the champions network and feel strongly about sustainability would take the steps to change their behavior regardless of a reward or competition. However, for members of the lab who are not driven towards sustainability through their own values, competitions with individual or lab-based rewards can encourage a positive behavioral change.¹¹

10. Collaborate across institutions and share best practices

Lab sustainability, although an emerging discipline, is not new, and there are lots of resources available on University websites that have dedicated sustainable labs teams as well as larger networks that provide resources for specific countries. By utilizing these resources and examining case studies of labs that have undertaken this journey before, labs can hit the ground running rather than starting from scratch.

It is also important to note that cross-collaboration between different sectors is valuable. Healthcare labs may not follow the same processes as research labs, dry labs or commercially focused labs, but there will be learning opportunities relevant to all of them. Sustainability initiatives relating to energy usage of plugged-in equipment, water usage in taps and procurement can be applied across the board.

It also helps the champions and sustainability-minded lab members to know that a lot of people locally, nationally and internationally want to move science in the same direction. They want to continue life-improving research and scientific discovery, but in a way that is not detrimental to the planet.