Laboratory sustainability scheme at Lincoln

The University of Lincoln has joined a scheme to work towards making its laboratories more sustainable.

Lab spaces use 3-10 times the amount of energy of a typical office space and produce almost 2% of single-use plastic waste worldwide, so it’s important to work as sustainably as we can in the lab.

The scheme is called the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF), and is used in over 95 institutions in 15 countries around the world.

Laboratories sign up to the scheme, and depending on the sustainability actions they take, they can be awarded a bronze, silver, or gold level.

To embed sustainability in all our laboratory practice, we are aiming for all laboratories in the University to achieve Bronze by May 2024. It is a challenging goal, but one that will help us to reduce our environmental footprint in the University.

More information about the scheme can be found here:

www.ucl.ac.uk/sustainable/take-action/staff-action/leaf-laboratory-efficiency-assessment-framework

You can also contact LEAF Manager Julia Byrne for more information at jbyrne@lincoln.ac.uk.

Story submitted by Julia Byrne
jbyrne@lincoln.ac.uk