Lab Sustainability: From Paperless Workflows to Energy-Wise Labs

Credit: iStock Will Labs Wake Up to the Environmental Cost of Data Crunching? Lab Sustainability Strategies To Support Your Research Top Tips for Going Paperless in the Lab LAB SUSTAINABILITY From Paperless Workflows to Energy-Wise Labs SPONSORED BY CONTENTS 4 Will Labs Wake Up to the Environmental Cost of Data Crunching? 8 Building a Greener Lab: Lessons From a LEAF Gold Award Winner 13 How To Run a Lab That Saves Money and Supports Sustainability 16 Lab Sustainability Strategies To Support Your Research 20 Greening the Lab: Save Water 21 Embracing Environmentally Friendly Practices in the Research Lab 25 Francesca Kerton on Greening the Lab: Cutting Energy, Water and Waste 28 Top Tips for Going Paperless in the Lab LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 3 TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM FOREWORD As laboratories continue to push the boundaries of scientific discovery, there’s an urgent need to ensure that innovation doesn’t come at the expense of the environment. From energy-intensive instruments to paper-based documentation and single-use plastics, the traditional lab setting often carries a heavy environmental footprint. Fortunately, a new era of sustainable science is emerging – one in which research excellence and environmental responsibility go hand in hand. Drawing on a wide range of strategies, from cloud-based data solutions and digital documentation to energy and water conservation techniques, this eBook outlines the steps labs can take towards becoming more environmentally conscious. Whether you’re beginning your sustainability journey or looking to refine existing practices, the insights shared here provide a valuable roadmap for lasting change. The Technology Networks editorial team 4 LAB SUSTAINABILITY After years of sounding the siren, researchers concerned about lab sustainability are being heard at the highest levels. Many universities and private research companies now incorporate sustainable practice into their work and funders like the UK’s Wellcome Trust are basing their awards on evidence of environmental certification. Key to these changes have been the work of standards bodies that seek to benchmark labs’ green commitments. These include the non-profit My Green Lab and the grassroots LEAF standards. These schemes focus on tangible changes wet labs can make to their practice. Researchers who work with biological samples can reduce carbon emissions by turning their energy-guzzling ultralow temperature (ULT) freezers from -80 °C to -70 °C, with no loss in sample integrity. Those who use fume cupboards can install energy-saving alarms that signal when the hood has not been properly sealed after use. These are important and obvious changes. But these standards largely ignore a key and growing source of lab emissions: the energy-intensive business of computational science. Does going digital always mean going green? Digitalization of waste-intensive lab processes usually gets the green light in discussion about sustainable research, said Loïc Lannelongue, a researcher at the University of Cambridge who studies green computing. “We’ve always thought of digital as the green option. Will Labs Wake Up to the Environmental Cost of Data Crunching? RJ Mackenzie Credit: iStock TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 5 Therefore, we don't really think about the impact.” In 2020, Lannelongue was completing a PhD in health bioinformatics when he decided to work out what the carbon footprint of his computational work was. “I thought that would be a small project,” he said. The first sign that this side quest would become something far more substantial was Lannelongue’s discovery that there were no helpful calculators of carbon footprint available. The only tools he could find were used to weigh up the impact of deep learning analyses that bore little resemblance to much academic work. In response, Lannelongue cofounded the Green Algorithms Initiative, which incorporates a calculator that assesses the carbon footprint of a computation as well as advice for greener computational science. Things “snowballed” from there, said Lannelongue, who now heads up his own lab focusing on green computing. The cost of on-demand data crunching For decades, the computing heft needed to power scientific research has been largely sectioned off from the scientists using it. The buzz of a ULT freezer – which uses 16 to 22 kWh of energy every day – is hard to ignore in a modern wet lab. The scientists in that same lab won’t hear the hum of server racks in their university’s data center, which use 96 to 144 kWh per day. The data centers are important parts of universities and other research institutes, as they contain the servers necessary to crunch data-heavy calculations like genomic analysis or protein folding simulations. The rise of cloud computing has seen institutes with appropriately deep pockets move some compute resources off-campus. It’s important to note that the comparison between data center equipment and wet lab equipment isn’t straightforward – freezers must be turned on 24/7, and server usage will likely be shared among many different labs – but gives an idea of the scale of carbon emission that a wet lab-only view ignores. Choosing green software Lannelongue said that being separated from these compute resources doesn’t mean that researchers are powerless to reduce their energy use. An analysis of different computational lab techniques found that similar calculations could incur very different emissions depending on the software used.1 Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are a powerful genomics tool. But large-scale GWAS are energy intensive. Lannelongue found that analysis using the BOLTLMM statistical approach incurred a carbon footprint of 17.29 kgCO2e, equivalent to driving a car for 100 km.2 Importantly, the same analysis using an updated version of BOLT-LMM used only 4.7 kgCO2e – a carbon footprint reduction of 73%. Lannelongue pointed out that many researchers might be reluctant to change the version of the software they use, especially if they are tied up in long analysis pipelines, where altering one tool might necessitate updates to other programs. Lannelongue said updating software isn’t the only change that computational researchers can make to improve their sustainability. A 2023 paper he coauthored put together a set of best practice principles called GREENER.3 One of these recommendations was for cultural change in how researchers make use of computing heft. Lannelongue gives the example of researchers working with machine learning models. Many of these systems benefit from hyperparameter tuning, where the model tweaks relevant variables prior to analysis. This tuning process initially produces quick boosts to the model’s accuracy that then become more incremental improvements. A researcher working on a Friday afternoon might be tempted to leave the model running over the weekend to eke out minuscule performance gains. Lannelongue explains that universities maintain competitiveness with private research by keeping compute resources at a very low cost. “But because there's no cost, there's no incentive not to waste it,” he adds. The culture change required, he said, will be to recognize that the hyperparameter tuning has an environmental cost, in the TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 6 same way that a staining assay has a plastic cost in a pile of used pipette tips. A green culture change That change is happening. Slowly. While some universities have no plans to monitor the environmental impact of their computing resources, others are facing up to the problem. Sydney Kuczenski, a green labs outreach and engagement specialist at the University of Virginia, said her institution has been running an in-house certification program for researchers since 2019. This program does allow flexibility for computational labs – allowing them to focus more on appliance power usage rather than cold storage, for example – but until this year, data center power consumption had gone under the radar. That changed when Kuczenski found the Green Algorithms Initiative online. Now, sustainable IT and computing will form part of Virginia’s 2025 Decarbonization Academy, a summer fellowship that introduces students to the changes required for Virginia to meet its aim of being carbon neutral by 2030. Students will learn about how computing processes – from Google searches to data center number crunching – consume carbon. Kuczenski said this may just be the first step. She’s particularly interested in tools like CodeCarbon, which can be implemented into Python codebases to track CO2 emissions produced by computing resources. “I would love to do a campaign of promoting this to researchers to put this tool into their code, and have a year of data tracking of how much carbon emissions our codes on average use,” said Kuczenski. Back in the UK, Lannelongue is championing a new sustainability certification scheme called Green DiSC that is tailored to digital labs. Despite these moves towards greener computing, Lannelongue said he feels “quite negative” about the future of the field. Data centers and computing hardware have been getting more energy efficient for the last two decades, he explained. Despite this, the sector’s energy usage and carbon footprint has been on a relentless upwards trajectory. At the recent Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, Lannelongue said he talked to leading AI and computing corporations, who insist there is no real problem with AI’s energy use, because efficiency gains will eventually see energy use decline. “It’s completely delusional,” said Lannelongue. “That’s just not going to happen.” As more powerful computers are brought to bear in research, even scientists who don’t make use of AI tools will likely see their computing carbon footprint grow. Some of this change will cut both ways – a lab may use more energy if it adopts an electronic lab notebook system, but will use less paper. But this change shouldn’t be a rush to crunch as much data as possible in the shortest time. Instead, researchers utilizing compute-heavy resources may need to rethink the cost of using these services, “We need to change how we think about computing,” said Lannelongue. “We need to accept that there's an environmental cost that we may want to try to minimize.” ABOUT THE INTERVIEWEES: Dr. Loïc Lannelongue is a bioinformatics researcher at the University of Cambridge. He leads a research group studying the environmental impact of computing. Sydney Kuczenski is a green labs outreach and engagement specialist at the University of Virginia. REFERENCES: 1. Grealey J, Lannelongue L, Saw WY, et al. The carbon footprint of bioinformatics. Mol Biol Evol. 2022;39(3). doi:10.1093/molbev/ msac034 2. Loh PR, Tucker G, Bulik-Sullivan BK, et al. Efficient Bayesian mixed-model analysis increases association power in large cohorts. Nat Genet. 2015;47(3):284-290. doi:10.1038/ng.3190 3. Lannelongue L, Aronson HEG, Bateman A, et al. GREENER principles for environmentally sustainable computational science. Nat Comput Sci. 2023;3(6):514-521. doi:10.1038/s43588-023- 00461-y www.integra-biosciences.comMINI 96 96 Channel Portable Electronic PipetteFill full or partial 96 and 384 well plates faster and more precisely than traditional handheld pipettes. The tiny size allows it to be easily moved anywhere in the lab, at the world‘s most affordable price!0.5–12.5 μl5–125 μl10–300 μl50–1250 μlPICK UP THE MOST AFFORDABLE 96 CHANNEL PIPETTE! 8 LAB SUSTAINABILITY As global awareness of climate change intensifies, scientific institutions are increasingly recognizing the need to become more sustainable. Currently, laboratories are often resource-intensive spaces, consuming large amounts of energy, water and single-use plastics. In response, many labs are re-evaluating their workflows, infrastructure and purchasing habits to reduce their environmental impact. Initiatives like the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) have become key tools, offering structured pathways for institutions to track and improve sustainability performance. Central to these efforts are lab managers and green champions who translate institutional policies into meaningful, on-the-ground change. At the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at the University of Oxford, Dr. Saroj Saurya leads the Dunn School Green Group in implementing a wide range of sustainability efforts, from creative plastic reuse programs to biodiversity enhancements. In recognition of their efforts, all the labs at Dunn School earned the LEAF Gold Award in 2024. To learn more about the strategies, challenges and future directions of the group’s sustainability work, Technology Networks recently spoke with Saurya. In this interview, Saurya shares practical tips for building a greener lab and discusses how partnerships within and beyond the university are helping to reimagine what sustainable research can look like. Building a Greener Lab: Lessons From a LEAF Gold Award Winner Anna MacDonald Credit: iStock TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 9 Q: The Dunn School Green Group has launched a variety of sustainability initiatives. Can you tell us more about some of them and how they contributed to receiving the Gold LEAF award in 2024? A: Achieving the LEAF Gold Award in 2024 was a result of sustained, collaborative efforts across the entire Dunn School. Our Green Group, which includes over 36 active members from across research, facilities and admin teams, has been instrumental in embedding sustainability into the culture of the department. One of our most impactful initiatives has been around reducing single-use plastics. Many labs, including the Raff Lab, have implemented systems to wash and reuse consumables such as fly vials, embryo collection plates, serological pipettes, and even Qiagen and NEB columns. These changes alone led to a dramatic reduction in offensive waste – down from 10–15 boxes per week to just one – preventing close to 1,000 kg of plastic from being incinerated. As a creative extension of our plastics work, we collaborate with companies that collect uncontaminated lab plastic and transform it into planters, which we use to grow fruit, vegetables and herbs – demonstrating a circular use of materials and providing a visible, engaging example of sustainability in action. Energy efficiency has also been a major focus. We’ve introduced a “Switch It Off ” campaign to encourage staff to power down lab equipment, lights and computers when not in use. Most of our ultra-low temperature freezers have been reset to -70 °C, reducing energy use by up to 30%, and the department has built regular defrosting and cleaning rotations into lab routines. We’ve also adjusted fume hood airflow rates to the lowest safe operating levels, helping to minimize unnecessary energy loss. Beyond the lab, we’ve taken steps to reduce food waste and promote sustainable behavior more broadly. Our food rescue initiative redistributes surplus meals from local supermarkets, and we’ve established communal sharing points like the EcoZone, Unity Fridge and Goodwill Freezer. We also run monthly bike repair clinics, host refill stations for lab-safe detergents, toiletries and household products, and organize community-building events such as plant swaps and Green Awards. Crucially, all of this is underpinned by strong communication. Sustainability is part of our lab inductions, departmental meetings and regular events like Dunn Drinks. We use visual signage, internal newsletters and our Green Group website to keep everyone informed and engaged. The LEAF Gold award for all the Dunn School labs recognized not only our technical improvements, but also the collective commitment of the Dunn School to driving sustainable change at every level – from the bench to the wider research environment. Q: From your experience, what are some of the key challenges and learnings when working toward sustainability certifications like LEAF? A: One of the most valuable aspects of working toward sustainability certifications like LEAF is that it encourages both individual labs and entire departments to take a structured, evidence-based approach to environmental responsibility. As Chair of the Dunn School Green Group and lab manager of the Raff Lab, I’ve seen first-hand how rewarding – but also how complex – this journey can be. A key challenge is the diversity of lab environments and workflows. In a department like ours, with over 36 Engagement is central to driving sustainability in any lab setting – no matter how strong the policies or frameworks are, it’s the people who make it work. TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 10 research groups, one-size-fits-all solutions rarely work. Each lab has different equipment, routines and pressures. Finding changes that are impactful yet practical requires patience, creativity and a lot of consultation. It’s not just about technical fixes – it’s about culture change. Embedding sustainability into daily lab routines takes time, especially in busy research environments where people are rightly focused on experiments and deadlines. Another challenge is data collection and documentation. LEAF requires you to demonstrate improvements with evidence, so setting up systems to track waste, energy use, equipment servicing or training records can be time-intensive. But this process has also been incredibly valuable – it pushes us to reflect on what we’re doing, measure our impact and make improvements that stick. One of the biggest learnings has been the power of collective action. The progress we’ve made at the Dunn School – from reducing single-use plastics and optimizing cold storage, to running food rescue and refill schemes – has only been possible because of strong collaboration across lab managers, students, postdocs, PIs, technical staff and our fantastic workshop and admin teams. It’s also been essential to keep the momentum going through regular communication – be it at lab inductions, departmental meetings or community events like Climate Awareness Weeks and Dunn Drinks. Finally, I’ve learned that celebrating small wins is crucial. Whether it’s a lab reducing their waste output, someone creating signage to improve recycling or a departmentwide shift to -70 °C freezers, acknowledging these contributions keeps people motivated. LEAF isn’t just about meeting criteria – it’s about building a shared sense of purpose and demonstrating that sustainability and high-quality research can and must go hand in hand. Q: How have partnerships within and outside the University of Oxford enhanced your sustainability initiatives? A: Partnerships – both within the University and with external organizations – have been absolutely essential to the success of our sustainability work at the Dunn School. Internally, collaboration with the University of Oxford Sustainability Team has provided us with valuable guidance, resources and opportunities to trial new ideas. For example, their support enabled us to upgrade older ultra-low temperature freezers with energy-efficient models at no cost to the research groups and helped us to recycle our Styrofoam boxes. They’ve also helped us promote and achieve our LEAF accreditation each year and link our departmental work to broader universitywide goals. Within the Dunn School, the close working relationship between the Green Group, workshop staff, lab managers, facilities and administrative teams has been key. These cross-functional partnerships have helped embed sustainability into everything from equipment maintenance to purchasing decisions and lab inductions. Our Green Group itself represents over 36 members – including students, PIs, postdocs and professional services – which allows ideas to flow between roles and disciplines, strengthening engagement and impact. Externally, we’ve built strong relationships with suppliers who have supported our efforts through take-back schemes, packaging reduction initiatives and trials of biobased reagents. We’ve also partnered with RecycleLab to pilot the washing and recycling of uncontaminated lab plastics, and we’re currently exploring collaborations on plastic depolymerization and circular economy solutions. Even local community organizations have played a role – our food rescue initiative works with Oxford LEAF isn’t just about meeting criteria – it’s about building a shared sense of purpose and demonstrating that sustainability and highquality research can and must go hand in hand. TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 11 supermarkets to redistribute surplus food, reducing waste and supporting wellbeing within our department. These partnerships have not only expanded what we can achieve practically, but also reinforced the idea that sustainability is a shared responsibility. By working together – across labs, departments, sectors and supply chains – we’ve been able to drive meaningful change that no one group could accomplish alone. Q: What strategies have you found most effective in engaging colleagues across various roles in the lab to embrace sustainability practices? A: Engagement is central to driving sustainability in any lab setting – no matter how strong the policies or frameworks are, it’s the people who make it work. At the Dunn School, we’ve found that the most effective strategies are those that focus on inclusivity, practicality and visibility. First, we’ve made sustainability part of the lab culture, not an added extra. By incorporating sustainable practices into lab inductions, safety training and regular group meetings, we ensure that new and existing members – from students to PIs – see it as part of “how we do things here”. Small shifts like setting -70 °C as the standard for freezers or building reuse into workflows make sustainability feel like a natural part of the research process. Second, we’ve focused on making it easy and accessible. For example, clearly labeled recycling stations, signage reminding people to switch off equipment and regular reminder emails have had a big impact. We also encourage labs to start with small wins – like reusing tip boxes or turning off heat blocks overnight – which build confidence and momentum. Another key strategy has been recognizing and celebrating contributions. Through our monthly Green Awards, we highlight staff at all levels – from facility managers to postdocs – who’ve contributed creative or consistent efforts toward sustainability. This helps reinforce that everyone has a role to play, not just the “green champions”. Importantly, we also provide opportunities to shape the agenda. The Green Group is open to anyone, and we’ve built a community where people feel empowered to suggest ideas – whether that’s switching to bulk buffer preparation, organizing plant swaps or trialling plastic recycling systems. This bottom-up approach has been crucial for buy-in. Finally, we’ve used events – like Climate Awareness Weeks, Dunn Drinks and departmental symposiums – to keep the conversation going in informal and engaging ways. These touchpoints allow us to share progress, spark new ideas and build a sense of collective ownership over sustainability. Ultimately, the key is making people feel that they’re not just being asked to follow a checklist – but that they’re part of a collaborative, forward-thinking effort to make science more sustainable. Q: You’ve written about the roles of persistence, leadership support and community engagement in the Green Group’s success. How do these factors contribute to lasting cultural change, and what guidance would you offer to others starting similar initiatives? A: Embedding sustainability into institutional policy and culture requires moving beyond individual enthusiasm toward system-level commitment. At a university like Oxford – where excellence in research and teaching is so deeply valued – there’s a real opportunity to position sustainability as a core part of scientific responsibility, not an optional extra. One of the most effective ways to embed it is by making sustainability visible and expected at every level – from building design and procurement policies to training, funding and assessment frameworks. For instance, integrating frameworks like LEAF or Green Impact into departmental expectations or funding eligibility would help normalize sustainable lab practices. Similarly, embedding sustainability criteria in grant applications, ethics review processes or PI induction would create a cultural shift that aligns environmental TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 12 stewardship with academic leadership. Another essential element is ensuring that technical and operational staff are empowered and supported. These are the people who manage equipment, train users and keep labs running efficiently – and they should be central to sustainability policy discussions. Recognizing their expertise and providing dedicated resources – whether that’s training, time allocation or funding for pilot projects – would go a long way. At the cultural level, we need to create more opportunities for collaboration and storytelling across departments. When people see examples of what others are doing – from reusing plastics to sharing cold storage or rethinking fieldwork travel – it makes change feel more achievable. Platforms like internal symposia, staff awards and sustainability networks can help celebrate and spread best practices. Lastly, it’s important that senior leadership at the institutional level models the change. When heads of departments, pro-vice chancellors and research leads speak openly about the need for sustainable research, it sends a powerful message. Institutional policy becomes cultural change when everyone – from students to senior academics – sees sustainability as part of their role in research excellence. In short, it’s about weaving sustainability into the fabric of academic life – not as a side project, but as a shared, visible priority that supports both scientific integrity and environmental responsibility. Q: Looking ahead, what future projects or areas of focus do you envision for the Dunn School Green Group to further advance lab sustainability? A: Looking ahead, one of our key priorities is to move from reducing waste to closing the loop, entirely shifting from reuse and recycling to genuine circular lab practices. We’re currently exploring partnerships with suppliers and innovators to pilot chemical depolymerization of lab plastics, turning them back into monomers that could be reused in the production of new lab consumables. That’s an exciting step toward a circular economy model in the biomedical research setting. We also want to expand our work on carbon footprint awareness, especially around digital data storage and freezer usage. While we’ve made great strides with switching to -70 °C and consolidating cold storage, we’d like to support labs in tracking and managing the energy impact of sample storage, computational workflows and data backups – areas that are growing quickly but often overlooked in sustainability discussions. Another big focus will be on biodiversity and wellbeing. We’ve seen strong engagement with initiatives like our wildflower patch, bee hotels and EcoZone, and we’d like to connect those more explicitly to lab-based workspaces – by greening internal spaces, improving air quality and fostering time outdoors for better mental health and collaboration. We’re also planning to scale up food sustainability efforts. Our food rescue program has already had significant impact, and we’re looking into how we can reduce catering-related waste during events, standardize lowimpact options and support plant-based choices across departmental functions. Finally, a continuing focus will be capacity building – equipping more labs to take ownership of sustainability through training, shared resources and peer-led workshops. We’ve seen that when sustainability becomes embedded in local leadership – like lab managers and DPhil students – it flourishes. We want to support that momentum and continue growing our network of sustainability champions across the department and beyond. Ultimately, our goal is to keep making sustainability visible, practical and collaborative – and to keep innovating, not just complying. Research is about discovery, and that includes discovering better ways to care for the environment while doing world-class science. Dr. Saroj Saurya is a postdoctoral laboratory manager in the Raff Lab and chair of the Dunn School Green Group at the University of Oxford. She holds a DPhil in Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of Oxford, with earlier qualifications in molecular biology and biochemistry. Saroj has led transformative efforts to reduce the department’s carbon footprint through a wide range of sustainability initiatives – championing plastic reduction, reuse, recycling and energy- saving practices. 13 LAB SUSTAINABILITY How To Run a Lab That Saves Money and Supports Sustainability My Green Lab Credit: My Green Lab Modern laboratories are engines of scientific discovery, but they are also among the most resource-intensive environments in any industry. Laboratories consume up to 10 times more energy per square foot than office spaces and generate vast amounts of single-use plastic waste. These inefficiencies aren't just environmental concerns, they directly affect the lab’s operating budget, productivity, research output and compliance burden. At My Green Lab, we’ve worked with thousands of labs across industry and academia, helping them turn sustainability from an abstract goal into measurable cost savings. Here are five practical strategies that laboratory and operations leadership can implement to reduce waste, cut energy use and streamline lab practices, all while strengthening their organization’s sustainability profile. 1. Reduce waste at the source: Rethink everyday lab habits Waste reduction isn’t just about end-of-life solutions, it’s about rethinking what comes into the lab in the first place. Many waste streams, from disposable gloves and pipette tips to outdated reagents and excess packaging, result from routine practices that can be redesigned. Simple interventions include: • Consolidating supply orders to reduce shipping and packaging • Sharing reagents between neighboring labs to minimize excess • Using refillable or reusable labware where protocols allow TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 14 For research-focused labs, consider these additional approaches: • Implementing sample-sharing protocols between research groups to maximize the usage of scarce reagents • Using digital lab notebooks to reduce paper waste while improving reproducibility • Establishing a centralized reagent inventory system to prevent duplicate purchases and reduce expired materials Labs that take a proactive approach to evaluating their waste streams often uncover both environmental and financial savings with little disruption to workflows. 2. Prioritize energy efficiency: Reduce power consumption across lab operations Laboratories are energy-intensive environments, with HVAC systems, fume hoods, autoclaves and cold storage units among the biggest culprits. Reducing energy use is one of the fastest ways to lower operational costs and shrink a lab’s carbon footprint. A good place to start is with ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers. These units can consume as much electricity as an average US household (5,000–9,000 kWh annually). Studies have shown that adjusting setpoints from -80 °C to -70 °C, routine defrosting and consolidating samples can reduce energy consumption by 30–40% without compromising sample integrity for most biological materials, which leads to immediate savings. My Green Lab and I2SL’s Freezer Challenge program provides a structured and engaging way for labs to tackle energy reduction in cold storage. Labs participating in the challenge: • Receive best-practice guides and tracking tools • Compete with peers globally while learning from shared results • Report measurable savings in energy use and improved freezer management Many labs that start with the Freezer Challenge often continue expanding energy-saving practices into other equipment and lab protocols. 3. Invest in people: Training lab staff to spot and solve inefficiencies Even the best tools can’t deliver results if lab teams aren’t engaged. Empowering scientists and lab managers with the knowledge and skills to drive sustainability creates long-term, bottom-line value. My Green Lab’s Accredited Professional and Ambassador Programs provide: • Practical training in lab sustainability best practices • Tools to identify and act on wasteful habits • A peer network for motivation and idea-sharing Labs with trained internal advocates report faster uptake of new policies, reduced resistance to operational changes and improved research workflow efficiency. More importantly, these initiatives help create a culture of sustainability that extends beyond the lab and into research design itself. 4. Track what matters: Use certification to identify cost-saving opportunities Many labs focus narrowly on electricity or recycling metrics, missing out on other areas where operational waste can quietly drive up costs. True lab efficiency is about managing a full spectrum of resource-intensive practices, from water use and fume hood settings to procurement and chemical storage. My Green Lab Certification (MGLC) provides a comprehensive, science-based framework to track performance across 14 impact areas. Participating labs: • Evaluate lab practices across key environmental impact areas using science-based criteria • Access clear, actionable recommendations tailored TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 15 to lab type and research focus • Set a baseline, improve over time and validate impact with third-party verification • Estimate potential environmental savings using the program's built-in Impact Estimator, including metrics on carbon emissions, water usage and waste reduction Case in point: Biogen recently became the first company to achieve 100% certification across all its research labs, saving energy, streamlining lab operations and advancing corporate ESG goals in the process. 5. Make informed purchases: Use ACT Ecolabels to reduce procurement guesswork Cost-effective labs rely on smart procurement, but with growing demand for sustainable products, choosing the right supplier has become more complicated. Many lab managers face a flood of vague environmental claims, making it hard to compare product impact. The ACT Ecolabel brings that clarity. With the recently launched ACT Ecolabel 2.0, procurement teams can: • Quickly compare products based on third-party verified environmental impact • Select lab supplies that align with sustainability and operational goals • Focus procurement discussions on clear performance data rather than inconsistent documentation Using ACT-labeled products helps labs meet sustainability requirements from funding agencies, align with institutional sustainability goals and document environmental stewardship efforts in grant reports – all while saving time and money. Conclusion: Sustainable labs are efficient labs Running a more sustainable lab isn’t just good for the planet, it’s good for research outcomes and the budget. With support from tools like My Green Lab Certification and the ACT Ecolabel, and by empowering teams through challenges and training, lab leaders can reduce costs, improve workflows and future-proof their operations while enhancing their research impact. If your lab is ready to align environmental responsibility with financial performance, the time to act is now. Credit: My Green Lab 16 LAB SUSTAINABILITY Many of us understand why sustainability is important, but few people understand this better than laboratory researchers. These are the people seeking solutions for global issues, pursuing innovation, taking in data about the world around us, and observing in real-time trends that can reveal some scary truths about our changing planet. Most of the researchers I talk to since I’ve been working in lab sustainability programming are also keenly aware of the environmental footprint of the work they do. They feel discouraged by every glove they have to throw in the trash, they notice the half-filled autoclaves, they see how climate issues affect their areas of research. But between grant deadlines and adhering to strict safety protocols, finding the time to explore “sustainability” in the context of the lab can be daunting. I propose that we stop thinking about “sustainability” as the things we do to assuage our guilt or shame about climate change, but instead start thinking about it as an opportunity to improve everything around us. I’m a firm believer that sustainable solutions in the lab can support team cohesion, support efficiency, enhance safety and help researchers stand out in grant proposals. There are many pathways to making your lab a more sustainable space. Get started today with some of these accessible sustainability tips that can enhance the efficiency and safety of your research! 1. Get to know your impact It’s helpful to establish a baseline in your lab before you decide what sustainability opportunities make the most sense for your group. When you have a diverse group of researchers and multiple ongoing experiments within one lab, it can be hard to understand what the comprehensive footprint of your research is without bringing everyone together to talk about what they’re Lab Sustainability Strategies To Support Your Research Fiona Hogan Bradford Credit: iStock TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 17 purchasing and what they’re throwing in the trash. Get a group meeting on the calendar! Here are some of the questions you might want to explore together: ∙ Who are the purchasers in your lab? Do they coordinate with each other or submit orders individually? Which vendors and platforms are they using? ◊ Tip: Consolidating orders can be a great way to reduce packaging waste. ∙ What are the items that people buy and throw away the most? Consider putting them in order for characteristics like physical volume (how much space do they take up?) or sheer number of items used. ∙ What are the most expensive items people in the lab are purchasing? How often are they purchased and who is weighing in on those decisions? ∙ What are the major waste streams for your lab? Consider organizing these by what goes in the landfill, recycling, or other regulated waste streams (e.g., biohazardous, sharps, radioactive waste, etc). ∙ Where are items stored in the lab and who has access to them? ◊ Tip: Sometimes people order new supplies without checking what they have first. Keeping everything in one place cuts down on wasted space and grant dollars. The goal of this team conversation will be to understand your own footprint more and identify opportunities for increased coordination and efficiency between lab members. Different lab members likely have different practices around waste and purchasing. By talking together, you may start to notice opportunities for bulk purchasing, safe waste disposal practices, improved inventorying or strengthening communication. Remember, it’s important to come to this conversation from a place of curiosity and not be judgmental or critical of current practices. Kick your meeting off with a gentle reminder that you’re all on the same team. Update your inventories Updating and maintaining an inventory of lab supplies and equipment is one of the simplest and most effective ways to improve efficiency in your lab. Sure, there are benefits for sustainability when it comes to using what you have, but it’s also generally a best practice for cost-effective use of grant dollars. There are so many platforms for inventorying now, ranging from very simple (e.g., Excel or Google Sheets) to more sophisticated (e.g., Quartzy), that can meet your needs, but the most effective inventory is the one that you regularly use. Make sure that responsibilities for maintaining your inventories are clear in your group. Is just one person responsible for that or is it a group endeavor? How on top of updating the inventory is your lab? A biweekly calendar reminder or lab meeting agenda item might be a nice way to build this practice into your lab’s culture. 2. Identify energy efficiency opportunities While you’re baselining about waste and purchasing, engage your group to understand what equipment they’re using. Often, laboratory equipment may go through seasons of high utilization and then you might not touch it for a year. Given the energy footprint of lab equipment, it’s valuable to take the time to understand what opportunities for efficiency you have in your lab. Remember, every lab is different and it’s important that you work as a team to facilitate open conversation. Here are some questions to get you started: ∙ What pieces of equipment do your lab members use? How frequently do you use them (daily, weekly, monthly)? ◊ Tip: If this information is hard to come by or you share equipment, consider creating a usage log to track how frequently equipment is utilized. ∙ How often do your lab members share equipment across different labs or use core facilities at your institution? How accessible is that equipment? Can you use it when you need it? TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 18 ◊ Tip: Check out the BETR Grants website to learn more about the benefits of equipment sharing. ∙ What energy efficiency settings does your equipment have? Are there standby modes? Can you turn equipment off between uses? Can you reevaluate temperature set points? ◊ Tip: See here for more information about changing your ultra-low temperature unit setpoints to -70 °C. ◊ Tip: It is always best practice to engage your equipment supplier about energy efficiency settings or programming new set points. 3. Talk to your suppliers! Now that you have an idea of what your footprint and inventories look like, it’s a great time to engage with your suppliers to understand what options they offer for more sustainable purchasing or waste management opportunities. This also lets them know how important those opportunities are to you and can shift the market in powerful ways long-term. Here are some questions you can ask them to kick off the conversation: ∙ What are your company’s sustainability initiatives when it comes to waste reduction and energy efficiency? ∙ How does your product catalog align with standards like the ACT Label and EnergyStar? ∙ Can you tell me more about the life cycle of this product? Is it recyclable and/or manufactured with recycled materials? ∙ What are some ways that you as a vendor give back to the community and support environmental justice initiatives? ∙ Is there an option for me to provide feedback about this item? I’d really like to get the ball rolling on identifying more sustainable options. ∙ I’d encourage you to share your ideas with your suppliers. What are some of the items you use most frequently that you wish there were more sustainable alternatives for? This is helpful information for lab supply companies as they continue to innovate solutions. 4. Stay up to date on safety protocols One of the surest ways to increase efficiency and sustainability in your laboratory is to invest in safety. Avoided accidents equals avoided waste of well-being, resources or time. It’s important to consult with your institution’s health and safety professionals to make sure you’re in alignment with their standards to discuss any new sustainability opportunities you might be interested in exploring, especially around waste reduction. Many waste streams coming out of labs are highly regulated and it’s important to avoid trying to recycle items that you wish were recyclable even if they aren’t actually recyclable, a practice known as wishcycling. The effects of wish-cycling can be incredibly dangerous in labs, as recycling or custodial personnel aren’t prepared to work with dangerous waste streams such as radioactive, biohazardous or chemical waste. While it may feel frustrating that you can’t recycle everything you want to or think should be recyclable, it’s important for your community’s safety that you follow all the prescribed regulations that your institution’s health and safety professionals promote for regulated waste disposal. Work with them closely to ensure that you are recycling safely and disposing of all waste as recommended. In working with them and refreshing yourself on standards, you’ll also probably get a reminder to keep chemical fume hood sashes closed when not in use as recommended by the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) Z9.5. By keeping sashes closed, you’ll protect yourself and others. You also might be saving a lot of energy, depending on the type of fume hood you have in your facility. A variable air volume (VAV) fume hood can use as much energy as 3.5 households in a TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 19 single day when left open. Keeping your fume hood sash closed is beneficial for sustainability and safety! 5. Connect with your community! While I’m lucky to have worked with researchers for some time, I am always learning new things because each lab I encounter has a unique scope, footprint, and culture. So while I encourage you to engage with sustainability professionals within your organization, I also strongly suggest reaching out to your peers and plugging into the national and international lab sustainability conversations. Let your peers know you care about sustainability! There are so many ways to do this, so I encourage you to find what feels comfortable to you. You could start by calling up a peer at another institution and asking what their experience with lab sustainability is. You could emulate some of the labs I work with and incorporate your commitment to sustainability into your slides at your next conference or presentation. The goal is to build momentum behind the conversation and share what you’re learning and exploring in your sustainability journey. You might find that together you’re able to come up with something innovative that changes the game for everyone! Explore the larger network If you’re talking to your peers, you’ll probably hear about My Green Lab and the International Institute for Sustainable Labs (I2SL), two major hubs for sustainable laboratory research resources. Both offer conferences, summits, trainings and website resources that can help you connect with other people like you. For me, the free Ambassador training from My Green Lab and the International Freezer Challenge are two go-tos for helping folks dip their toes into the world of lab sustainability. We need everyone Ultimately, when we’re talking about making scientific research more sustainable, we’re really talking about shifting the culture of an entire industry that has a monumental environmental footprint. Changing culture can be slow and difficult, but many hands make light work. Researchers have a unique opportunity to make a huge difference by doing something as simple as closing a fume hood sash or pioneering a new process that bypasses additional waste generation. Whether your contribution to sustainability is big or small, it matters and you are a welcome addition to a community that wants to support you every step of the way! Labs can also implement practices to reduce the amount of water they consume.1 Use of water purification systems that consume high amounts of water. High water consumption in sinks. Use of single-pass cooling systems in equipment such as autoclaves and water baths (this system not only wastes water but also is a safety hazard). Ensure regular maintenance of the purification system to avoid leaks and waste energy. Use the lowest grade of water needed for each application (e.g., don’t use type I if your task can be done with type III). Install low-flow aerators in lab sinks (this can cut water flow by up to 50%!). Try an ice bucket and an aquarium pump to create your own recirculating water bath. Use waterless, air-cooled condenser devices. Choose closed-loop or recirculating systems that reuse water continuously. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL INFOGRAPHIC PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS Use autoclaved glassware only if is necessary for your experiment. TYPE TYPE TYPE TYPE DIY 21 LAB SUSTAINABILITY Scientific research is playing a key role in driving society towards a more sustainable future – powering advancements in renewable energy, clean water, food security and more eco-friendly infrastructure. But lab-based research also comes with its own concerning environmental footprint; analytical instruments and controlled-environment storage apparatus can be remarkably energy-intensive, singleuse plastics are a common sight and improper recycling practices can result in extra waste treatment costs and carbon emissions. An increased recognition of these circumstances has led to widespread efforts to improve the sustainability credentials of research labs, to ensure that scientific progress does not come at the expense of the environment. To learn more about lab sustainability and the types of actions that labs can take to reduce their environmental impact, Technology Networks spoke with Andrew Arnott and Siôn Pickering from the University of Edinburgh’s Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability. Q: What are the biggest focus areas for a sustainable laboratory? Andrew Arnott (AA): We originally had a strong focus on energy, but as grid decarbonization has progressed and as energy-saving actions have become mainstream, we have moved more towards a focus on materials. This can take the form of looking at whole life-cycle carbon emissions, including embodied carbon, and investigating lower-impact alternatives in our supply chains. We can also pivot our practices towards circular Embracing Environmentally Friendly Practices in the Research Lab Alexander Beadle Credit: iStock TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 22 economy principles – for example, critically evaluating the use of “single-use” lab plastics and identifying reusable alternatives. In addition, we work with our lab community to raise awareness of the 12 principles of green chemistry. Siôn Pickering (SP): As Andrew mentions, when we think about how to reduce the need to buy new equipment, we should be looking to circular principles. This tackles a number of key concerns, such as reducing the need to mine raw materials for making the equipment, less impact to transport and package safely and reduced waste from the item at the end of its useful life. We should be looking at how to extend the life of existing items through better maintenance and servicing, and also consider how to best manage areas such as data and samples that may be required in the future. Single-use plastics are also a significant challenge, especially when we think of the volume of each item we buy in and then dispose of within a single lab – and then scale this across an institution the size of the University of Edinburgh. Finally, we need to be concerned about the use and disposal of chemicals. While individual chemicals may be safe to dispose of, the interactions between these are often less certain, especially when we consider anything that makes its way into the environment. Q: What actions can laboratories take to improve the sustainability of their operations? AA: Many, many actions! We run a training session webinar on this topic (it takes just 90 minutes to cover everything) but some key examples might be: • To pivot away from single-use lab plastics and instead use reusable items that you decontaminate between uses. • Don’t keep fume cupboards switched on purely to act as ventilated chemical stores – instead, use a specific ventilated chemical store that can save up to 90% of the energy. • Have good practices for sample/material storage management in ultra-low temperature (ULT) cold storage, as well as good housekeeping and maintenance of ULT freezers. And adjust the set point temperature to -70 °C instead of -80 °C. • Avoid cross-contaminating waste streams. • Use good chemical/reagent management systems that prevent the over-purchasing or wastage of expired items. • Implement good practices for decontamination to ensure reliable sterilization (this avoids the need to decontaminate a whole lab when looking for the source of a problem) while ensuring energy efficiency. SP: Other low-hanging fruit might be changing behaviors to turn off equipment when it’s not in use or asking suppliers about take-back schemes for What are the 12 principles of green chemistry? The 12 principles of green chemistry, as set out by Dr. John Warner and Dr. Paul Anastas in their foundational text, Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice are as follows: 1. Waste prevention 2. Atom economy 3. Less hazardous chemical synthesis 4. Designing safer chemicals 5. Safer solvents and auxiliaries 6. Design for energy efficiency 7. Use of renewable feedstocks 8. Reduce derivatives 9. Catalysis 10. Design for degradation 11. Real-time pollution prevention 12. Safer chemistry for accident prevention TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 23 packaging. More challenging actions could include setting up a maintenance schedule for equipment and suitably training staff on sustainable research practices. The biggest impacts come when we change cultures across the institution. For me, this starts with how the research is designed, making sure that it is efficient both in terms of the consumables used, and also in the avoidance of purchasing new equipment through investigating sharing or leasing options. Q: What options are there for labs that want to assess/demonstrate their commitment to sustainable research? AA: This market has expanded substantially since I joined the sector in 2015. At the University of Edinburgh, we have run our own in-house accreditation scheme since 2014, which has been approved by our funders as being equivalent to the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) – a predominantly UK-based scheme designed by colleagues at University College London, which has become the default brand name for lab sustainability in UK higher education. The other big player at the moment is My Green Lab – a USA-based group who do a lot of work with the private sector, as well as in higher education, and who are putting a lot of effort into international expansion. There is a student-run scheme called Green Impact from the National Union of Students too. SP: Signing up to the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice as a signatory or supporter would also demonstrate commitment at an institutional level. The concordat touches on many of the areas we have noted already, as well as other key areas, such as business travel and the reporting of data. Q: How can universities and research institutions support their labs in following good sustainability practices? AA: Numerous ways! Make it clear through the words and actions of senior leadership that sustainability is a core part of the mission of the institution, and that poor sustainability performance puts the institution at risk. This justifies staff spending time on looking into sustainability improvements rather than it being seen as something which is “not your job” and might only be tolerated if you do it on your own time, on top of your day job. Invest in a few staff roles to facilitate and project manage the program. Time is required to make change, and it won’t happen without an investment in staff time. Volunteering only gets you so far. Educate and enable the lab community through high-quality training on best practices. And enable and facilitate the necessary changes in equipment or practices by setting aside some strategic, ring-fenced funding so that when a lab user spots something that needs to change, they have a clear and timely process to enact it. Delay leads to frustration and inaction. Q: What advice would you give to researchers or lab managers who are starting to think about lab sustainability? AA: The first steps are to understand good practice, and then to take a critical look around your workspace and your practices and protocols and see where the gaps are. You can get an understanding of good practice in a few ways – you could: • Look for good practice webinars or other web resources, such as our website. • Engage a consultant — there are a small number of individual consultants specializing in green labs. • Enroll in an awards/accreditation scheme where the criteria list will spell out what good practice looks like. • Join a community of practice, such as the Lab Efficiency Action Network in the UK. Labs are very heterogeneous, so one-size-fits-all advice isn’t going to work – although there are broad principles and hot spots that apply to almost all labs. Once lab users have become familiar with the principles underlying good practice and understand where their most impactful actions should be focused, they will be TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 24 in a better position than anyone to understand what actions they should prioritize. SP: Start small and look for “quick wins”. Celebrate these when you achieve them and share these achievements with others outside of the core group. Building momentum is key to tackling the larger challenges on your list! If you’re not sure how to address some of the challenges you’ve noted down, talk to other institutions or look online to see how others have approached these. Often, people are happy to share their learnings to give others a head start and avoid the pitfalls they encountered. ABOUT THE INTERVIEWEES: Andrew Arnott is the climate, biodiversity and sustainability manager at the University of Edinburgh. He was formerly the projects coordinator for the University’s sustainable laboratories program, working since 2015 to make labs more sustainable by increasing energy efficiency, reducing waste and improving the design of lab buildings. He now works on strategies, policies and large-scale practices to decarbonize the University and have a positive impact on biodiversity and ecosystems locally and globally. Siôn Pickering is the climate, biodiversity and sustainability in supply chains program manager at the University of Edinburgh. Siôn started working to address Scope 3 emissions at the University of Edinburgh in 2018 and, since 2021, has been focused on ensuring that environmental sustainability and human rights are considered within institutional procurement processes. Siôn’s role looks at how the University can embed circular economy principles to reduce the consumption of goods, services and works as well as developing opportunities for sector-wide collaboration to support achieving ambitious climate targets. 25 LAB SUSTAINABILITY In an era defined by climate change, scientists are increasingly turning their attention toward their own laboratories. At a recent webinar focused on sustainable technologies and laboratory design, Francesca M. Kerton, a professor of green chemistry at Memorial University of Newfoundland, highlighted practical, evidence-based ways to reduce the environmental impact of scientific research. “Labs are some of the most expensive and environmentally intensive buildings to operate,” Kerton emphasized. “A single fume hood in a lab uses three and a half times more energy than an average household, and labs are five to ten times more energy intensive than the regular office building.” Starting small: Everyday practices that add up Kerton encouraged attendees to begin with simple, attainable actions. “There are little things that we should all be doing already, such as recycling, making sure that your samples are labeled and that everybody knows what they should be, and turning off equipment when it’s not in use.” Reducing single-use plastics, keeping fume hood sashes down and properly managing sample storage are other important steps. “With green labs, you want to think of the five R’s: refuse, reduce, reuse or repair, repurpose or recycle.” Francesca Kerton on Greening the Lab: Cutting Energy, Water and Waste Kate Robinson Credit: iStock TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 26 Programs like LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework), although designed for publicly funded institutions in the UK, offer downloadable resources and ideas that can be adapted more broadly. “You don’t necessarily have to pursue full accreditation,” she noted. “You could go to websites and get inspiration of changes that you could make.” The Freezer Challenge: A case study in efficiency One standout initiative Kerton cited is the International Laboratory Freezer Challenge run by My Green Lab, which encourages labs to make their cold storage more energy-efficient. “Over the years since the Freezer Challenge has been running, they’ve saved a total of 76.5 million kilowatt hours of energy, which is really impressive.” Over 3,000 labs participated in the challenge last year, with growing involvement from the pharma and biotech sectors. Actions include preventive maintenance, reviewing inventory, defrosting units and upgrading outdated equipment. “We can make a big difference by adjusting how we interact with our freezers in the lab,” she explained. Even minor changes can yield significant savings. “If you have cell lines and you’re storing them in a -80 ultra-low temperature freezer, if it’s not going to damage your cell lines and you increase that temperature to -70, you’re going to reduce your consumption by 30 to 40%.” Water and waste: Taming the hidden costs Water usage is another major area of concern. “Autoclaves can use up to 228 liters of water per cycle. In general, labs use five times more water than regular office spaces,” Kerton said. “If we leave a tap running, we’re using 15 liters per minute.” The cumulative effect is staggering. Using a vacuum aspirator daily for a year will use close to 230,000 liters of water. “That is the equivalent of 750 people’s water uses.” Retrofitting existing equipment can help. “You want to introduce systems that could recirculate the water or retrofit existing autoclaves. You can use waterless condensers, air condensers and also cooling systems that are closed loops and recirculate the water.” Plastic waste is also a big problem. “Labs produce five and a half million tons of plastic waste annually. This corresponds to 2% of global plastic waste, and a big portion of that plastic waste is coming from our PPE.” Kerton suggested strategies like wearing washable cotton glove liners inside disposable gloves to reduce the need for replacements. “Instead of wearing seven pairs of gloves over the course of the day, you may be able to reduce that down to three or four pairs.” Glassware reuse, though not always feasible, can still be improved. “As long as you haven’t been shaking your sample inside the small analytical vial, the cap and scepter can be reused six times without the need to worry about contamination,” she said. “Often the scepter caps are actually more expensive than the vials.” Greener solvents and chemicals Chemical and solvent waste is another major contributor to a lab’s environmental footprint. “An estimated 157 kg of chemical waste is produced per researcher per year,” Kerton noted. One promising strategy is solvent recycling. “There are a number of places around the world where solvent recycling programs are being explored, and acetone and ethanol are particularly amenable to this.” Better inventory control can also reduce duplication and waste. “Make sure that you have a good inventory for your lab and ideally across your institution so that you can share chemicals where possible.” Researchers are also encouraged to prioritize less hazardous reagents. “Sometimes we can replace dichloromethane with something that is less harmful,” she said. “We should all be looking to prioritize benign, less hazardous reagents and solvents.” TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 27 Culture shift and institutional buy-in While individual actions matter, Kerton stressed the importance of broader institutional support. “Sometimes as researchers, we don’t necessarily have that much influence over those who are holding the funds, but we can make them more aware about how energy intensive scientific research is.” Cost-saving is often the most effective argument for securing administrative support. “If you show them that money can be saved, they should be coming on board.” Grant applications can also be used to request more sustainable equipment. “Switching from more energyintensive gas lasers to diode lasers could reduce energy and water usage by 99%. Consider writing a grant application to see if you can replace your older instrument.” A sustainable future, one lab at a time Reflecting on her career, Kerton acknowledged how her understanding of lab sustainability has evolved. “When I was an undergraduate, a graduate student, a postdoc researcher and probably even assistant professor, I was really unaware of the kind of toll our buildings and workspaces had on the environment.” Now, she’s hopeful that change is underway. “Hopefully, eventually, labs around the world will not be using 10 times the energy space of office space, four times the water, and we won’t be producing as much plastic waste.” By embracing both grassroots efforts and systemic changes, scientists have the opportunity to make their work not only groundbreaking but also sustainable. ABOUT THE INTERVIEWEE Francesca Kerton is a professor of Green Chemistry at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada and has a global reputation for her innovative research on sustainable chemistry related to the oceans. 28 LAB SUSTAINABILITY In today’s digital era, paper-based work is becoming increasingly obsolete. The switch to digital technologies has extended into scientific research with the introduction of paperless labs. Going paperless in the lab can have numerous benefits, from reducing a lab's environmental impact to enhancing data integrity and accessibility. However, transitioning to a paperless lab is not as simple as purchasing digital technologies. Technology Networks spoke with Dr. Samantha Pearman- Kanza, senior enterprise fellow at the University of Southampton, to learn more about the benefits (and potential pitfalls) of going paperless in the lab and some of the research advancing digital technologies, from voice commands to artificial intelligence. Q: Can you discuss some of the benefits of a paperless lab and the technologies available to help labs achieve this? A: A key benefit is the positive environmental impact (although this is potentially offset by the increase in digital devices that require power to enable this reduction of paper). The nature of capturing data digitally also paves the way for benefits such as data sharing between colleagues and managers, better retention of data and the potential for easier backup. However, just because something is “digital” or “paperless”, there is no magical guarantee of quality or improvement. The tools that enable paperless labs can facilitate that, but we need people with the right expertise to help with this, and the tools need to be implemented correctly. Top Tips for Going Paperless in the Lab Blake Forman Credit: iStock TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 29 It’s important to distinguish between paperless labs and labs that facilitate better data capture to produce FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data, because they are not necessarily the same. Concerning producing FAIR data, it’s not enough to just buy a set of electronic lab notebook (ELN) licenses. Many people labor under the assumption that much scientific research isn’t reproducible because the important details are locked away in paper lab notebooks, but that’s often not the case. The information scientists require is usually locked away in the original researcher’s head or potentially forgotten with time. We must train our scientists to capture more comprehensive notes with valuable contextual information. If this [digitization] is done successfully, there are endless potential benefits for labs. But, if done poorly, this is nothing better than the digital equivalent of covering a gaping wound with a small sticky plaster. Q: Are paperless labs more expensive to run? Do you have any advice for labs trying to minimize the costs associated with digitization? A: In the short term, yes. Initial outlay costs for hardware and potential improvements to the lab setup may be required. In addition to the obvious software licenses, you will also be paying out staff costs to get things up and running, and will need to use your scientists' time to get them trained on how to use the new tools. There may be additional costs if legacy systems are incompatible with new systems. Further, once these labs are established, you could have higher running costs, e.g., the power to run all these devices, compared to using paper in the lab. However, the benefits of digitization could save money in other areas if done properly. For example, if good processes are implemented and scientists are accurately capturing scientific data such that others can re-use their work, then you are saving money for each experiment that doesn’t need to be repeated. I would also advise some general power-saving techniques. The advantage of using cloud-based systems is that they can be accessed from anywhere with any device if there is an internet connection. So, there is no need to keep lab computers constantly powered on. Sensible placement of equipment is also key. While having dedicated lab hardware means not worrying about contamination, you also don’t want to be upending destructive chemicals onto your hardware, as they will need to be replaced, which will cost more money. Q: Can you discuss some of the research being undertaken around the different aspects of lab digitization? A: I have seen a significant upsurge in research and development around voice technologies in the lab over the last six years. I remember attending the Lab Innovations Expo before the COVID-19 pandemic and asking many of the ELN and Laboratory Information Management Systems companies if they were investigating the use of voice in their technologies. At that time, it was almost a resounding no. Fast forward, and several companies are now working on voice in the lab. This could enable a smoother, quicker form of data entry and allow scientists to interact with software when they can’t use their hands. If this [digitization] is done successfully, there are endless potential benefits for labs. But, if done poorly, this is nothing better than the digital equivalent of covering a gaping wound with a small sticky plaster. TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 30 There is also a push to develop ELN standards and mechanisms to port data between different ELNs. On the academic/open-source side, there is the ELN Consortium, which has worked to develop the ELN File Format. More centered around the large-scale ELNs are the Allotrope Foundation, which is looking at providing a universal file format for scientific data. Another key emerging technology I have seen is Large Language Models (LLMs), with ELN companies creating LLM assistants to facilitate intelligent and human-friendly searching as opposed to needing to understand complex database queries or application programming interface (API) commands. The combination of this technology with voice commands could prove very powerful. I have seen it used more to search and query rather than capture, and arguably you would probably be more likely to be near your computer to type things in if you were looking for something versus dictating something during an experiment, but it would make a lot of sense to combine these capabilities. Q: Is it possible for a lab to be 100% paperless? What do you think could be done to help more labs go paperless? A: It is possible, although it depends on what you define as 100% paperless. All data being captured electronically – absolutely! The entire eradication of paper from the lab – also possible, but potentially somewhat trickier depending on your setup. Switching over to an ELN requires dedicated hardware that ensures that each researcher has access to a device to capture data and notes. Additionally, it’s not just enough to have those devices; the lab environment needs to be appropriately set up for them. You need to have good WIFI (assuming the ELN is cloud-based, which many are) or enough Ethernet ports and cables to hardwire the internet connections into devices. There needs to be sufficient power sockets to ensure that desktops can be plugged in, or to have suitable stations for charging. There also needs to be suitable locations to put said hardware. Devices need to either be portable or well-placed for the experimental work that is likely to be undertaken. Ideally, all notes would be captured in the ELN, but this is a lengthy process for people to adapt to, and it’s always very tempting to scrawl something down quickly if you are trying to remember it. Having a dedicated notes space within your ELN can help to mitigate this. Ultimately, these transitions take time and are complex. I would recommend considering all the things I have mentioned here, and consulting with your scientists to understand their current working practices, what their hardware preferences are and if you have the time/ financial capabilities to make these transitions. ABOUT THE INTERVIEWEE Dr. Samantha Pearman-Kanza is a senior enterprise fellow at the University of Southampton. Pearman-Kanza obtained her PhD in web science from the University of Southampton. Her research involves applying computer science techniques to the scientific domain, specifically through the use of semantic web technologies and artificial intelligence. Fast forward, and several companies are now working on voice in the lab. This could enable a smoother, quicker form of data entry and allow scientists to interact with software when they can’t use their hands. LAB SUSTAINABILITY: FROM PAPERLESS WORKFLOWS TO ENERGY-WISE LABS 31 TECHNOLOGYNETWORKS.COM CONTRIBUTORS Alex Beadle Alexander is a science writer and editor for Technology Networks. He writes news and features for the Applied Sciences section, leading the site’s coverage of topics relating to materials science and engineering. He holds a master’s degree in materials chemistry from the University of St Andrews, Scotland. Anna MacDonald Anna is a senior science editor at Technology Networks. She holds a first-class honors degree in biological sciences from the University of East Anglia. Before joining Technology Networks she helped organize scientific conferences. Blake Forman Blake pens and edits breaking news, articles and features on a broad range of scientific topics with a focus on drug discovery and biopharma. He holds an honors degree in chemistry from the University of Surrey and an MSc in chemistry from the University of Southampton. Fiona Hogan Bradford Fiona Hogan Bradford is the sustainable labs project associate for the University of Virginia’s office for sustainability. In this role, she supports lab sustainability initiatives at every scale – from research building retro commissioning projects to behavior change campaigns with sustainability-minded researchers. Kate Robinson Kate is a science editor at Technology Networks. She graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences in 2020. RJ Mackenzie RJ is a freelance science writer based in Glasgow. He covers biological and biomedical science, with a focus on the complexities and curiosities of the brain and emerging AI technologies. RJ was a science writer at Technology Networks for six years, where he also worked on the site’s SEO and editorial AI strategies.