Differentiate – e.g., you can reuse tips for controls but not for samples.
Step-by-Step – implement one change at a time.
Mindset – stay positive and focused, not stressed or uncertain.
Experience – get familiar with your protocol or its technical background first.
Controls – document, measure, and take pictures.
Anxiety and concern are just hints from your subconscious that there’s something you haven’t yet considered. They are not signs of insurmountable danger.
I know of companies that decontaminate waste, those that bring a freezer to your lab so you can defrost yours, and scientists who comb agarose gels on both sides to run them back and forth.
Even in the high-performance segment you find significant differences in sustainability - read more here.
However, stay vigilant. There is no unified approach to pin down exact numbers, so take every gCO₂e or percentage saving with a grain of salt.
Always Take Action.
It will keep you going, keep your mind engaged, and help you find new opportunities. In the long run, it will make you a better scientist as you learn to optimize protocols.
Just put it in your calendar.
The more upstream you go, the better. Reduce, Reuse, and source Products more sustainably are key.
Take photos and quantify your progress. This will not only help you convince others more easily but also serve as a powerful reminder and motivator for yourself. Eventually, you’ll be able to publish this work.
Still, don’t try to plan too far ahead, as uncertainty and unexpected circumstances can’t be controlled.
Everything can be optimized. Even experimental design and thereby your statistics can benefit from sustainable practices.
Most people will be surprisingly enthusiastic if you take action.
It’s worth going up the chain (PI, dean, institute leadership), as they’re often interested in driving change but lack the knowledge to do so.
A great way to find local supporters is to simply send an email to your internal contact list at your institution.
For everyone who is skeptical of sustainability, try to identify their motivation: reduced environmental impact also means saving money and time, and increasing safety for scientists.
You remain the expert in your science and are free to find an approach that fits you.
While some practices are easy to implement in one place, another lab with nearly identical conditions may require a completely different strategy. Just find your way; there’s no absolute right or wrong.
If something can’t be done, move on. Regret for the past is a waste of energy, and we cannot change others.
Here is a list of nearly all the sustainable practices I know.
Find The Fire
Driving change is fun when done with the right partners. The community is large, and there’s a good fit for everyone.
To stay in touch with the community and stay up to date on tools and new green products once a week, join our Sustainability Snack.
Applying The Knowledge
Too often, we believe change is hard and rare - but in the end, it just takes you. Change your habits once, you will be able to do it again.
Don’t ask yourself if you can take action - ask how.
Doubt and anxiety will appear, but that is normal. All it takes is your decisiveness.
Upcoming Lesson:
The Future of Plastics in the Lab
How We Feel Today
References
Penndorf, P., et al., 2023. A new approach to making scientific research more efficient – rethinking sustainability. FEBS Lett., 597(19), 2371–2374. doi:10.1002/1873-3468.14736.
Penndorf, P., 2024. Reducing plastic waste in scientific protocols by 65% – practical steps for sustainable research. FEBS Lett., 598(11), 1331–1334. doi:10.1002/1873-3468.14909.
Alves, J., et al., 2020. A case report: insights into reducing plastic waste in a microbiology laboratory. Access Microbiol., 3(3), 000173. doi:10.1099/acmi.0.000173.
Kilcoyne, J., et al., 2022. Reducing environmental impacts of marine biotoxin monitoring: a laboratory report. PLOS Sustain. Transform., 1(3), e0000001. doi:10.1371/journal.pstr.0000001.
Mazzali, et al.,2025. Sustainable and surfactant-free synthesis of negatively charged acrylamide nanogels for biomedical applications. Macromolecules, 58(3), 1206–1213. doi:10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02128.
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Edited by Patrick Penndorf Connection@ReAdvance.com Lutherstraße 159, 07743, Jena, Thuringia, Germany Data Protection & Impressum If you think we do a bad job: Unsubscribe
Personal Note from Patrick, the Editor Hi Reader, you are probably missing out on significant opportunities... Institutions that take sustainability seriously can often save more than 60% of plastic waste, 50% of energy, and 20% of chemicals. Even if you have, for example, set your freezer to -70°C you are still missing out on about 1/3 of potential energy savings. How is that possible, and how can you change it? Today's Lesson: Why We Miss So Much Potential Finding out how we can make big...
Personal Note From Patrick, The Editor Hi Reader, I’m sure you’ve heard of bioplastics. Previously, we already discussed what they actually are. But are they safe to use in the lab? I would argue generally yes, apart from two specific exceptions: Today's Lesson: The Safety of Bioplastics Investigating the properties of innovative plastics Number Of The Day Life Cycle Assessments indicate that biobased polypropylene can reduce footprints by up to 81%. While the actual numbers in manufacturing...
Personal Note From Patrick, The Editor Hi Reader, ever thought about reusing your tips or tubes? To do so, many laboratories autoclave them to ensure they are sterile. However, autoclaving takes time and energy - it’s at least 121 °C for 30 minutes, after all. So, does reusing items actually make sense? Let's answer a question no one else addressed yet: Today's Lesson: Reuse Or Incineration Exploring which option is more sustainable Number Of The Day Approximately 400 000 000 tons of plastic...
