Hi Reader, what can you do to make your lab more sustainable?
I’ve rarely heard anyone answer this question comprehensively.
While plastic waste and water consumption are top of mind for many, the issue is much broader.
Here are the key domains of sustainable laboratory practice you should be aware of:
Today's Lesson: Aspects of Lab Sustainability
Categories to think about when making labs greener.
Number of the Day
Today, we will explore the 11 domains related to laboratory sustainability and examine what they entail. Few people are familiar with all of them, and even fewer are able to address each one within their institution. However, understanding these domains will give you a clearer sense of where change is possible and help you recognize their interconnectedness - allowing you to transfer approaches from optimizing one domain to another. Without further ado, let's dive right in.
11
An Overview of Sustainability Domains
As you know, I am of the opinion that sustainability in science has many facets.
My goal is to help you integrate them all so you can achieve the greatest possible benefit.
This octagon represents the many benefits you may experience through more sustainable practices. Surviving supply shortages is currently a major concern, with geopolitical issues reducing the availability of helium. Enhancing viability, for example, of bacteria through drop methods
Of course, there are many ways to categorize sustainability-related domains.
However, I think the following structure is the most practical to give you an idea of where you can take action:
Providing You with an Overview
I have identified 11 domains or categories for sustainable practices in laboratories.
For each, I outlined:
What the domain refers to or entails
Concrete examples of sustainable practices in that domain
Relevant metrics that can be measured
Why it matters to take action in that domain
I compiled all of this in a Notion template to keep things short and concise.
Below is a shorter overview that includes the first two points:
1. Items
This domain relates to reducing the impacts of all (single-use) items in the laboratory such as tips, tubes, or gloves.
Examples: Reducing the number of pipette tips used, using smaller-sized tubes, or considering alternative materials such as glass or bio-based materials.
2. Chemicals & Reagents
This includes chemicals used for syntheses, as well as water use, reagents, and supplements.
Shown is the energy consumption for the production of 1 kg of each chemical. The figure compares the original synthesis, the energy required to distil a solvent instead of producing it anew, and the net energy when accounting for energy recovery from incineration. The data is taken from this amazing review.
Examples: Replacing hazardous solvents with more benign alternatives, using low-flow aerators, and adopting FBS-free alternatives for cell culture.
3. Instruments
This domain includes all aspects related to larger instruments and machines in the laboratory, covering their entire life cycle - from purchase and installation to operation, maintenance, and disposal.
When it comes to reagent use and heat emission, we often overlook how much potential for optimization exists, especially in high-performance settings.
Examples: Optimizing freezer temperature and placement, improving HPLC gradients, using additional equipment to prevent evaporation, recycling helium in NMR systems, or switching to hydrogen in gas chromatography.
4. Experimental Design
This domain focuses on how you plan experiments, including sample sizes, concentration ranges, and model selection.
Examples: Improving statistical design to reduce animal use and designing preliminary experiments to find the most efficient path to results.
5. Bioinformatics
Large-scale bioanalytical investigations are becoming increasingly common, making the choice of scripts, pipelines, and servers critical for minimizing environmental impact.
Grealey et al. developed a tool to measure the impact of various bioinformatic tasks. The numbers above the boxes represent mean values.
Examples: Creating efficient pipelines to avoid unnecessary data processing, scheduling jobs during low-traffic periods, and reviewing cloud storage to reduce footprint and improve data safety.
6. Procurement
This domain focuses on purchasing items, instruments, and services for the laboratory.
Examples: Prioritizing vendors that ship lyophilized products instead of using cold chains, reducing packaging, and consolidating orders to minimize delivery frequency.
7. Building Management & HVAC
This relates to all aspects that physically define the laboratory, such as air exchange, space utilization, and temperature control.
This slide comes courtesy of Dr. Kathryn Ramirez Aguilar and is based on resources from the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF). Space utilization is a topic that is rarely addressed, despite offering significant potential for savings, as previous endeavors have shown.
Examples: Reducing air exchange rates, enabling smart shared use of lab spaces, and optimizing fume hood ducting.
8. Waste Management
While we cannot avoid generating waste, how we manage it is crucial to minimizing harm to the environment and human health.
Examples: Evaluating third-party waste treatment options, using take-back programs, and ensuring proper waste separation within institutions.
9. Monitoring
This broader domain includes both footprint quantification and internal organization, such as sample tracking.
Examples: Implementing sample and reagent tracking systems to reduce search time and freezer door openings, and conducting footprint analyses to identify major impact areas.
10. Social Interactions & Education
This domain refers to all communication efforts aimed at education and motivating action.
In a previous lesson, I discussed how to drive change in a bit more detail.
Examples: Creating strategies to encourage colleagues to adopt sustainable practices, founding Green Teams, and integrating sustainability topics into lectures.
11. Travel
This domain addresses the reduction of emissions associated with attending conferences, trainings, and talks.
Examples: Avoiding air travel, establishing hybrid meeting formats, and creating internal incentive programs for sustainable travel.
Applying the Knowledge
This may seem like a large number of domains but the goal is not to make you feel overwhelmed, but to create structure.
This framework should help you identify where you can have the greatest impact and which changes are most feasible - without overlooking less popular areas.
For institutions new to sustainability, it can serve as inspiration and a filter; more advanced institutions may discover new opportunities.
For deeper insights, it is often helpful to work with an experienced advisor
Overall, revisit this list regularly - over time, you will notice more and more opportunities.
Starting in one area makes everything else easier, because often the biggest hurdle is simply learning how to get started.
How We Feel Today
References
Thomas, P., et al., 2012. Nonrecovery of varying proportions of viable bacteria during spread plating governed by the extent of spreader usage and proposal for an alternate spotting-spreading approach to maximize the CFU. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 113(2), pp.339–350. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2672.2012.05327.x.
Byrne, F.P., et al., 2016. Tools and techniques for solvent selection: green solvent selection guides. Sustainable Chemistry and Processes, 4, p.7. doi:10.1186/s40508-016-0051-z.
Grealey, J., et al., 2022. The carbon footprint of bioinformatics. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 39(3), p.msac034. doi:10.1093/molbev/msac034.
If you have a wish or a question, feel free to reply to this Email. Otherwise, wish you a beautiful week! See you again on the 7th : )
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