From left: Ben Harris, Jess Woodcock & Josh Barlow
The University is committed to reducing carbon emissions across its operations. One way of doing this is to engage with the UCL-developed LEAF (Lab Efficiency Assessment Framework) which encourages sustainable practice within laboratories.
The University is committed to reducing carbon emissions across its operations. One way of doing this is to engage with the UCL-developed LEAF (Lab Efficiency Assessment Framework) which encourages sustainable practice within laboratories.
Over the last 12 months, 16 labs at the University have achieved either Bronze or Silver LEAF awards but several labs have set a new precedent by becoming Gold LEAF labs. They are:
- Biosciences teaching labs 115 and 118 (Wallace Building) within the Faculty of Science and Engineering
- Chemistry lab G336 within the Faculty of Science and Engineering
- ILS2 second floor research lab within the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science
Gold LEAF criteria challenges labs to change the way they purchase and use equipment, find greener chemical alternatives, and even redesign experiment methods to cut down on the amount of chemicals and consumables used.
Key actions include:
- Replacing plastic petri dishes with glass that can be re-used and labelling chemical sample vials for appropriate re-use.
- Sharing equipment between different degree schemes and allowing older equipment that is used less to be used in ‘project labs’ for undergraduates.
- Replacing certain hazardous chemicals with greener and safer alternatives.
- Bulk ordering chemicals and consumables at the start of semesters to avoid deliveries throughout the term to reduce travel and emissions.
Senior Technician Ben Harris from the Department of Chemistry manages teaching lab G336. He said: “Getting a Gold LEAF award has been a really useful exercise, not only has it made our lab users more aware of the practices that make our daily actions more sustainable, but it has brought up some interesting discussions around what we can do next and how we can work together more efficiently.“
Hilary Williams, Senior Technician in the Department of Biosciences is responsible for teaching labs 115 and 118. She said: “Gaining the Gold LEAF award has started some really interesting conversations between lab groups. We are really proud to be amongst the first teaching labs within the Faculty of Science and Engineering to have achieved this.”
Research Officer Ruth Jones from the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science said: “I am delighted to get the first of our FMHLS research labs to Gold. We have worked really hard as a collaborative group to get to this point and have had so much support from all the lab users. Although we still have some way to go to implement all of LEAF’s recommendations and make our labs truly sustainable, we have managed to put in place some great new schemes and really improved efficiencies.”
Speaking on behalf of the University’s Sustainability Team, Environment Officer Victoria Lewis said: “Becoming a Gold LEAF lab takes a lot of time, effort, coordination and teamwork. What Ben, Hilary and Ruth and their teams have achieved is testament to their daily efforts to improve their environmental performance and teach their students how they can be part of a sustainable lab space. As the University’s Sustainability Team, we are very proud of all those involved.”
If you work in a lab at Swansea University and feel inspired to join LEAF, you can sign up here and work towards your first award. The Sustainability Team offer support at all stages of the LEAF journey, and any questions can be directed to: sustainability@swansea.ac.uk