Promega UK Announces Winners of the 2023 Helix Sustainability Awards

The Life Sciences Company based on the University of Southampton Science Park in Hampshire, has announced the winners of this year’s Helix Sustainability Awards.

The awards are in their seventh year and celebrate the sustainability efforts made by leading academic, clinical, and commercial customers in the Life Sciences Sector. Helix is an onsite RFID (Radio Frequency ID) laboratory product storage system, used to support scientists with their research. The awards are made based on calculations which consider the number of individual shipments saved, as well as the associated packaging and dry ice use. 

The three winners are:
1.          John Innes Centre, Norwich
2.          All Wales Medical Genomics Service
3.          Manchester University NHS FT

By using Helix and consolidating orders, the top five organisations have reduced deliveries by over 1144 consignments, minimising packaging, reducing the use of dry ice as well as reducing carbon emissions through transport.

Commenting on their Gold Helix Award, Sally Payne from the John Innes Centre, based in Norwich, said, 

“We are honoured to have been recognised as the winner of the esteemed Helix Sustainability Award. The John Innes Centre is devoted to sustainability, and we welcome the chance to cut down our carbon footprint through partnerships with crucial suppliers such as Promega.

"The award acknowledges the endeavours of our Procurement and Stores teams in mitigating environmental impacts while supporting the University's research.”

Fiona Marshall, Head of Public Sector Sales at Promega said of the Helix programme, 

“At Promega, sustainability is integral to our operations, especially with the recent achievement of ISO 14001.  We manage and report to our customers on all our efforts and action plans through various platforms including NETpositive Futures and EcoVadis. The Helix™ programme is one area offered to customers to reduce the environmental impact through ordering, e.g., consolidation to reduce shipping and the impacts shipping has (transport, shipping materials, and dry ice).

“We take pride in our transparent tracking and monitoring processes, ensuring accountability and continuous improvement. The collaboration with university teams through consignment stock solutions continues to be impactful, demonstrating the power of collective efforts in advancing sustainable procurement practices. Each initiative, no matter how small, contributes to our shared vision of a more sustainable future. Together, we can make meaningful strides towards our environmental goals.”

Helix cabinets, fridges and freezers are supplied free of charge by Promega to store products onsite at customer locations, reducing the need for shipments of reagents and assays needed by scientists. Researchers simply swipe a card, to access what is needed for their work, even in the middle of the night. Each item has a ‘RFID’ tag on it for replenishment purposes to keep the system working efficiently.