Hi Reader, you probably want to make your laboratory greener.
But what holds most people back are false beliefs.
Therefore, I collected a number of examples and case studies that achieved tremendous change without risking scientific quality.
Let's see what can be achieved without endangering performance:
Today's Lesson: Initiating Change Safely
Showing that it works and what it achieved
Number Of The Day
A single biotoxin chemistry laboratory in Ireland was able to save approximately 15 800€ without compromising its regulatorily required screening workflows. These savings were simply achieved by implementing more sustainable practices such as reducing single use items or recovering certain solvents. Also companies such as AstraZeneca saved $317 548 in energy costs alone simply by adopting greener practices.
15 800
Sustainability For Safety and Profit
You want to drive change but are concerned about impeding workflows, reduced data quality, and overall costs.
Your key: realizing that the main challenge in sustainability isn’t technical - it’s psychological.
It appears that when we perceive a “cloudy” or ill-defined concern, we actually feel anxious, often due to social learning, rather than truly calculating actual risks. Several studies have shown that the amygdala, periaqueductal gray, anterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and the stria terminalis which work together to encode both proximate and distant fear are also partially involved in social learning and mirroring. For the abbreviations, and more about the topic see Wang et al.
It’s mostly limiting beliefs that are not born out of accurate thinking, but rather a tendency of our brain to avoid unnecessary action.
To show you how powerful it can be, let me introduce you to the four-minute mile:
The Role Of Limiting Beliefs
The one-mile world record, set in 1945, stood at 4 minutes, 1 second, and 4 milliseconds. For almost ten years, it remained untouched.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was the former global governing body for track and field, responsible for rules, records, and elite competitions. Thus, “IAAF” refers specifically to elite, internationally regulated events under its authority. The recorded times and graph come from Wikipedia.
In the 1950s, it was widely believed that the human body simply could not run a mile in under four minutes.
Some physicians even claimed that running faster would be physically impossible: muscles would tear, hearts would fail.
However, it seems that it was primarily because of these beliefs that the record stood. Little else prevented people from running faster.
Because in 1954, a medical student - not a professional runner - broke the record by almost two seconds.
It was on May 6, 1954, at the Iffley Road track in Oxford that Roger Bannister ran a mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. He set this record while practicing as a junior doctor. However, Bannister’s record lasted just 46 days. You can read more in this fantastic Guardian article. Photograph: AP.
He ran with heavier shoes than today’s high-performance sneakers and without a specialized professional diet.
He simply didn’t believe the narrative. And after years of stagnation, it just took a few weeks for another runner to set a new record.
The full graph from Wikipedia, raising the question of whether the same can happen in science?
With sustainability, it’s the same: what we commonly consider valid concerns are largely socially induced beliefs.
It’s Risky And Not Profitable?
The most common limiting belief I see around sustainability is the idea that it’s risky and financially problematic.
However, this thinking is born out of the belief that sustainability is something we do for the environment at the expense of scientific quality or financial stability.
Optimizing workflows is unexpectedly effective. In this example, using the drop plating technique instead of streaking out bacteria leads to significant savings and improves viability. In my experience, there is no sustainable change unless quality is maintained or improved. I’ve seen this repeatedly while working with institutes, companies, and research groups.
True sustainability will preserve quality - otherwise, the change is not sustainable.
To prove this point, I collected real examples where significant sustainable change was achieved - each and every one without compromising scientific quality or workflow:
Let’s start with the University of Groningen: 46 laboratories saved over 398 000€ and prevented 477 000 kg of CO₂ emissions. And even just one change -raising freezer temperatures accounted for 81 000 kWh (or >€18 600) in annual energy savings.
At CU Boulder, the Green Labs program has, since 2009, enabled 14.1 GWh of electricity savings (≈ $1.66 million), 77 million gallons of water conserved (≈ $186 000), 540 000 lbs of lab solid waste diverted, and 3 520 gallons of solvent reused.
Industry is not lagging behind either. AstraZeneca saved 1 270 185 kWh in a single year, translating to $317 548 in avoided energy costs. The return on investment for their My Green Lab certification amounted to a staggering 4.3×.
Of course, even single laboratories can drive significant change:
A microbiology lab in the UK reduced 516 kg of waste annually, while saving hours of staff time each week.
A screening lab in Ireland cut single-use plastic waste by 69%, non-chemical waste by over 95%, and hazardous chemical waste by 23% without compromising regulatory compliance.
It can be so simple, just finding an alternative as shown in this picture. Of course, identifying and speaking with scientists who know what is safe is key. Still, it is a common phenomenon that, once overcome, can allow people to reach new heights. If you want to drive sustainability in your institution, the most important step is simple: start.
Programs are running even in the most renowned institutions:
Harvard, as well as Johns Hopkins and others, have long established structured support for lab sustainability
At EMBL, laboratory kitchens began preparing sterile reagents in-house, saving about 18 000 plastic bottles per year at the Heidelberg site alone.
The Babraham Institute installed a trigeneration system that saved over 2 500 tonnes of CO₂ and £1.3 million in just three years. Retrofitted autoclaves also save 32 000 liters of softened water weekly.
And from personal experience, I can say that individuals are making a mark too.
While researchers as the University of Cologne and LMU Munich driving change, one contact of mine reports that at a startup they reduced reaction volumes by 90% and cut pipette tip use by around 80% by rethinking how they designed a colorimetric assay.
Moreover, even the U.S. Department of Energy and the University of California have published joint guidelines on energy-saving opportunities in laboratories.
And instead of listing all other projects, let’s simply look at the following mind-boggling number: As of mid-2024, LEAF and My Green Lab Certification had enrolled over 7 000 labs worldwide!
The take-away: in any institution, any lab, any circumstance change is possible if you allow yourself to envision it.
And with an educational course or an advisor, you can often save a significant amount of time and effort.
Applying The Knowledge
What usually holds us back are worries that feel sensible but haven’t really been thought through.
We focus on what could go wrong instead of asking whether there might be solutions that avoid those risks altogether.
That’s why having an external advisor or outside perspective is so powerful.
> Someone with experience can help you navigate common pitfalls, save time, and most importantly see what’s actually possible.
And remember, you can always start small, run tests, or even stop if something doesn’t feel right.
There is no obligation to move further than you’re comfortable with.
During one of my consulting sessions, I met two postdocs who were cleaning their electroporation cuvettes for reuse. This allowed them to save a significant amount of non-recyclable waste as well as money. Time-wise, the protocol was feasible - otherwise, I doubt a postdoc would do it.
This is why anyone can make it work: lab managers, scientific administrators, PhD students, postdocs, etc.
And remember: your colleagues are dealing with the same doubts and limiting beliefs. Often, all it takes is one email, one conversation, one small step to create momentum.
If you want your institute to run below four minutes, you can’t believe those who tell you it’s impossible.
How We Feel Today
References
Cornwell, B.R., et al., 2025. A shared threat-anticipation circuit is dynamically engaged at different moments by certain and uncertain threat. Journal of Neuroscience, 45(16), e2113242025. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2113-24.2025.
Murty, D.V.P.S., et al., 2023. Threat and reward imminence processing in the human brain. Journal of Neuroscience, 43(16), pp.2973–2987. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1778-22.2023.
Wang, Y., et al., 2018. The original social network: White matter and social cognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 22(6), pp.504–516. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2018.03.005.
Freese, T., et al., 2024. The relevance of sustainable laboratory practices. RSC Sustainability, 2(5), pp.1300–1336. doi:10.1039/D4SU00056K.
Alves, J., et al., 2020. A case report: Insights into reducing plastic waste in a microbiology laboratory. Access Microbiology, 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 Sustainability and Transformation, 1(3), e0000001. doi:10.1371/journal.pstr.0000001.
Schell, B.R., et al., 2024. Lab sustainability programs LEAF and My Green Lab®: Impact, user experience and suitability. RSC Sustainability, 2(11), pp.3383–3396. doi:10.1039/D4SU00387J.
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