Reducing Energy Consumption In Laboratories
The university of Cambridge spent approximately 19 million pounds on energy in 2018. On average, about 60-75% of all energy is consumed by laboratories. Therefore, these steps, can significantly cut down on energy consumption while maintaining high standards of research and operation: 1. Develop a Comprehensive Energy Plan Pro Tip: Optimize Equipment Readiness: Measure how long it takes for your equipment to get ready and share this information in a collaborative Excel sheet with your team. This will help you plan better and avoid leaving equipment running longer than necessary. 2. Smart Purchasing Decisions 3. Optimize Settings Pic energy consumption from last time pdf with S-labs consumption of HVAC vs others 4. Efficient Equipment Usage 5. Regular Maintenance 6. Collaborative Sharing 7. Optimize Equipment
The Shortest Complete List of Sustainable Actions
This list is certainly not exhaustive since scientists come up with new amazing practices to make their laboratories more sustainable every day. However, here is as much inspiration as we can give: Reducing waste Improving experimental conduct and design Reducing paper, water and energy use Paper Water Energy Changing procurement and purchasing processes Using equipment Optimizing waste treatment Changing for internal organization Involving institute governance Optimizing HVAC
Ask Me Anything – 10 Questions About Sustainability Answered
Question 1: I work with animals, mice to be precise. Are there best practices or opportunities to be more sustainable? 1. Optimize Experimental Design Minimize: the number of animals used by ensuring experiments have sufficient statistical power and address specific research questions effectively. This reduces unnecessary animal usage and associated costs. 2. Consider Breeding Practices: Efficient breeding strategies are essential, especially for genetically modified mice, to avoid unnecessary surplus animals and overwork for researchers. 3. Reduce Waste and Resource Consumption: Implement practices to minimize waste generation, such as composting animal bedding, which requires coordination but can significantly reduce environmental impact. 4. Balance Sterility and Reduction: Do not impair cleanliness levels in animal facilities but plan your stay (potentially with coworkers) to reduce the amount of personal protective equipment worn. 5. Optimize Experimental Procedures: Streamline laboratory protocols to minimize resource usage, such as reducing pipette tip consumption or maximizing cell yield from harvested organs. Literature: Some ideas for optimizing statistics: A / B / C Question 2: What is possible to make more sustainable when it comes to experiments? 1. Review Experimental Strategies: Did you optimize statistics in terms of power and significance? Do you have a solid strategy, e.g., efficient implementation of controls or avoiding using painkillers without known mechanisms as controls. 2. Implement the Six R’s: Focus on reducing and reusing materials. For instance, pipette tips can be reused by pipetting water before DNA, and wash solutions can be prepared directly in petri dishes to minimize tube usage. Also, consider using the same culture dish for routine passaging after thorough validation. Sometimes it is possible to pour wash-solutions instead of pipetting them etc. 3. Method Optimization: It depends very much on your set-up, e.g., investigate greener methods such as HPLC-MS, which streamline workflows and require fewer sample preparations. Consider using alternative eluents like ethanol instead of acetonitrile, although potential drawbacks like increased HPLC pressure and altered UV cutoff must be considered. In the live event I mentioned: 6R and some inspiration for HPLC Question 3: What is meant by regulation in sustainability? Regulation in sustainability refers to laws and requirements set by national or supranational entities, such as the European Union, that compel organizations to report on their sustainability efforts and adhere to certain standards. Currently, this primarily affects industries and companies, but there’s a possibility it may extend to academic research laboratories in the future. For companies, compliance with sustainability regulations may involve the creation of sustainability reports, which are becoming as critical as financial statements. The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) may necessitate reporting on a wide range of data points, potentially exceeding 1,000. In laboratories, sustainability regulation may require reporting on activities and environmental impacts, such as Scope 3 emissions from procurement and purchasing. Sustainability officers or designated personnel may be tasked with collecting and managing this data. Regulation can also influence purchasing decisions, potentially requiring organizations to consider sustainability factors when acquiring products or chemicals, akin to current hiring practices where equal opportunities are provided to all applicants. You can watch our previous event on that topic as well : ) Question 4: We need administration to join in. But how? 1. Regulation and Reporting Waiting for regulations to mandate sustainability reporting or initiatives can provide a framework for administration involvement (unfortunate but true…) 2. Grassroots Initiatives Scientists and staff can actively prompt administration by demonstrating the value and feasibility of sustainability initiatives. By proactively suggesting and implementing sustainability measures, staff can show administration the potential benefits and garner support for broader initiatives. 3. Align with Administrative Priorities Tailoring sustainability initiatives to align with administrative priorities can help garner support. For example, emphasizing the educational value of sustainability initiatives can appeal to universities focused on teaching and education. Demonstrating cost savings, reduced maintenance or risk reduction associated with sustainability measures can be quite powerful. However, sometimes, personal buy-in can be sufficient. E.g., an amazing colleague called Star Scott has convinced administration by making them emotionally involved after sharing that their lab waste ended up in nearby socially disadvantaged communities. Question 5: What are Carbon Credits? Carbon credits are a form of tradable permit or certificate that represents the right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide or an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases. They are a mechanism used to offset emissions by investing in projects that reduce or remove greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere. Here’s how carbon credits typically (should) work: 1. Emission Reduction Projects: Carbon offset projects can take various forms, such as reforestation, renewable energy generation, methane capture from landfills, or energy efficiency initiatives. These projects are implemented to either reduce or remove greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere. 2. Certification and Verification: Once a project is implemented, it undergoes a certification process to ensure that it meets certain standards and criteria set by various carbon offsetting organizations. 3. Issuance of Carbon Credits: Upon successful verification, carbon credits are issued to the project based on the amount of emissions reduced or removed. Each carbon credit typically represents one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) that has been mitigated by the project. 4. Trading and Sale Carbon: credits can be bought and sold on carbon markets, allowing companies or individuals to offset their own emissions by purchasing credits generated by emission reduction projects. 5. Offsetting Emissions: By purchasing carbon credits, companies or individuals can offset their own carbon footprint, effectively neutralizing their emissions by investing in projects that mitigate emissions elsewhere. However, while carbon credits are intended to incentivize emission reductions and support sustainable development initiatives, there are huge issues with their effectiveness and integrity: 1. Additionality: There are many example where some carbon offset projects may not be additional, meaning they would have occurred anyway even without the sale of carbon credits. This raises questions about the real environmental impact of offsetting activities. 2. Longevity: Some offset projects, such as reforestation, face challenges related to permanence. For example, a forest that is planted to sequester carbon could be subject to deforestation in
3 Overlooked Benefits Of Publishing With A Society Journal
By Patrick Penndorf TL;DR In contrast to commercial journals run by publishers such as Nature or Science, Society Journals are run by practicing scientists within nonprofit research organizations. Therefore: • The editors in Society Journals are empathetic to the situation of researchers, prioritizing improvement of manuscripts instead of excessive requests. This is also why they organize handpicked peer review to assure valuable feedback. • Society Journals publish work dedicated to a certain field. They have a focused audience that is more likely to cite your work instead of just reading it. • Publishing with a Society Journal is a guarantee that your paper is treated properly (reliably accessible, listed in major databases, securely available on servers in the future, feasible APCs). Any profit a Society Journals makes, goes back as an investment into the scientific community for example in the form of workshops for early career scientists, scholarships or conference organization. Publish or Perish – A Personal Confession A few centuries ago, one would read about all important new advances in a handful of printed journals. Nowadays, it’s all about Googling and trying to handle the multitude of publications coming out every day. Due to the growth of the scientific community, Impact Factor became the one and only consideration for many scientists. I can still remember that when I pursued my PhD at a Max Planck research group in Germany, I did not even consider publishing anywhere but in Science or Nature. Why? Because I was naive. I did not know society journals existed until 3 years after I started to volunteer in societies! Of course, outstanding findings that are of interest to various fields at once should be published in high Impact Factor Journals such as Nature or Science. However, trying to publish any work there will harm ones career a lot. Why Society Journals are Valuable Instead of knocking your teeth out and spending 3 more years until your paper might be published in a high-impact factor journal without reaching its proper audience or going with a vanity journal in which peer review is practically nonexistent, simply getting the paper off your back – you can publish with a Society Journal. Society Journals are run by Scientists for Scientists. They are embedded in nonprofit research organizations. This is why they prioritize scientific rigor and insight instead of making money. They are the gatekeepers to great science with a clearly focused scope. They publish work for a dedicated audience, and thus, valuing robust data and research effort more than Impact Factor. Unfortunately, Society Journals do not undertake the marketing activity to reach as many people as Nature or Science. Undoubtably, Society Journals deliver a lot of value. However, they are run by scientists who do not feel comfortable doing marketing. Not even when it would be appropriate. To my mind, Society Journals can be the diamond in the rough – and soon the “gold” rush might begin so let’s get you informed about the 3 overseen benefits of publishing with a society journal: Publishing to a Relevant Community Probably the most important metric these days is how many people cite your publication. This is not the same as how many people see your publication. If you have me as a university student read about your science in Nature, you certainly made my day more enjoyable, but you will not receive a citation in return. Throughout the decades of their existence, Society Journals have built a dedicated community of the core scientists within a particular field. Of course, the younger generations of scientists are totally focused on publishing high-impact factor, forgetting that a high IF is calculated for an entire journal. It says nothing whether your paper will be cited at all. The key question is, whom do you want to know about your work – a large crowd or a dedicated audience in a particular field? Societies such as the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology will not promote your work to scientists working in neurophysiology but it will give you access to researchers in your field all over the world. Ensuring Your Paper is Handled Properly We as scientists invest years of work into a publication. Long nights, frustration, unexpected pivots… Our work becomes somewhat of a darling to us. Therefore, we need to protect our dear child from being abducted or mistreated. Whenever you publish with a society journal, you can be sure that you did not fall prey to a vanity journal or a predatory publisher. This is crucially important because you can be sure that your paper is treated properly. That means it will be accessible to readers, findable in the common databases, and it will be stored as long as the internet exists. With most predatory publishers, all that counts is the money you pay them. On which server your paper ends up is less than certain. Furthermore, if your paper ends up in a Journal that is mostly predatory, who will trust your work? Society Journals have such a great reputation because of a reason: Rigor in Review Would you like to have ChatGPT as your peer reviewer? Peer review is paramount to create trust and reliability, but it can also lead to tremendous headaches if done improperly. Society Journals do not allow for shortcuts. However, they make sure you will actually receive useful comments because your reviewers will be handpicked. This kind of peer review is often a great chance to actually find out what is needed to have your colleagues actually cite your paper. Of note, rigor also excludes excess. One of the most interesting papers I have ever read turned out to be 40% based on peer review comments (it took the lab 1-2 years to work on this additional data). This will not happen to you. Society Journals do not intend to change your work. You will not be stuck with years of additional work. Finally, let us talk about the editors. Your editor will most likely
An Introduction To Sustainable Procurement: A Scientist’s Guide to Purchasing Greener Items For The Laboratory
By Patrick Penndorf Procurement. In other words, the process of purchasing items and services for your laboratory. When I first delved into the world of procurement, I was met with a lot of complex jargon and convoluted advice. It felt confused and uncertain about my next step. Therefore, let me share what I have learned to help you make sense of this topic: If you do not want to read the entire article, here is my key take-away: As everything related to sustainability in science, sustainable procurement is about prioritizing differently. Instead of choosing the easiest solution, it is about balancing environmental, societal and economical impacts. It always comes at a cost (time, effort, risk) upfront but will pay off in the long turn. Why Procurement Matters Did you know that a significant chunk of laboratory emissions stems from purchasing? One Preprint found that up to 56% of laboratory missions can be attributed to procurement alone. Also, more regulations that require companies to report about their footprints are released. Especially the EU is moving quickly (e.g., CSRD). Even for academic laboratories such obligations could be a reality soon. Their universities, funding bodies or the government might ask for such data. Still, it not just about saving the planet; there are tangible cost savings too. Companies like Unilever, Pepsico, and Nike have saved millions by optimizing their procurement processes ($1.2 Billion, $60 and $50 million respectively). But What Is SUSTAINABLE Procurement? Sustainable procurement is revisiting and shifting our purchasing priorities to make it about more than just buying what fits. It is about valuing environmental, social, and economic factors as well. There are 8 “factors” that in my opinion explain well what it means to prioritize sustainability (and to make this section not too dry, I will add a bit of black humor to illustrate what it should NOT look like): Effectiveness – buying what (actually) align with your organization’s goals.“You said DNA-Prep Kits, I understood NEW COFFEE MACHINE“ Efficiency – reducing expenses, emissions and environmental damage to a minimum.“Although it took 8 months for my product to arrive, it at least has seen every continent on earth – I am so proud!” Competitive Openness – inviting (all) suppliers to compete for the best offer (in terms of price as well as environmental impacts).“No need for tedious online research, my friend is assembling CRISPR Kits in his garage” Transparency – you should know and share where your products come from, how they’re made, and what their environmental footprint looks like.“Phh that number is so long it could be my phone number, just put into in the supplementary of the additional information in the attachments” Fairness – avoiding discrimination of certain providers and contributing to proper cooperation.“I hate their logo, this blue tone is off-putting, they are out!” Accountability – holding both yourself and your suppliers accountable for ethical practices, whether it’s fair labor conditions or responsible sourcing of materials.“I think Tony messed up again … but anyway, he is paying for the beer so don’t mess with him!” Responsibility – recognizing the broader impact of your procurement choices.“Environmental exploration – I would be glad if that would finally happen here so they could start building this new highway…” Independence – making purchasing decisions based on objective criteria rather than external influences or biases (e.g., from single stakeholders).“But the oracle (aka my neighbor who works at this company) has forsaken that this is going to be the new gold-standard in a few years” Independence – making purchasing decisions based on objective criteria rather than external influences or biases (e.g., from single stakeholders).“But the oracle (aka my neighbor who works at this company) has forsaken that this is going to be the new gold-standard in a few years” But In How Far Does That Relate To The Laboratory? Laboratories were built to do science, not to have your search through google for hours to find some reagent that might reduce environmental impacts and might work potentially too, in some cases, if you are is lucky. Most changes in your procurement have to happen in alignment with your laboratory. And some can only be sparked there. To provide some examples, here are four of them: Collaboration and Resource Sharing Reduction is king. Before making a purchase, explore opportunities for collaboration or resource sharing. Can you partner with other labs to share equipment or borrow chemicals? Setting up an excel or designated chat/Email Group to inquire can be helpful for larger institutes. Reduce delivery footprints through collective purchasing and bulk orders, especially in institutions with multiple labs. By pooling resources and purchasing in bulk, you can not only save costs but also reduce packaging waste. And for laboratories with smaller financial resources, it might be the only way to afford some especially expensive antibodies or equipment. Reviewing Procurement Practices Do you need to reorder, or can you reuse? Some columns can be recovered, while tubes for commonly needed solutions can be reused. Instead of purchasing entire DNA isolation kits, reuse collection tubes to safe money and only buy the columns (QIAGEN offers that for example). Especially for academic laboratories, mindful organization and distribution of laboratory are often lacking. Keep track of expiration dates and where stocks are kept. This will save a lot of time and money. Also, multiple people accepting deliveries an putting items in various storage locations can result in items getting lost. Software and systems for inventory management are available (even for free) – and sometimes an excel sheet will do too. Exploring Innovation And Alternatives for Solvents & Reagents Explore which new items and equipment exist to save energy, chemicals and resources. Some MS and HPLC machines already use less chemicals/eluents and need less energy. Eppendorf produces tubes made to 90% out of plant oil waste streams. Especially for laboratories in the bioeconomy, can you repurpose waste streams or adopt alternative methods that require fewer resources? Make use of resources such as the solvent guide from the University of Pennsylvania to identify
Top 5 Certifications For Scientists To Know About
Optimizing procurement strategies can be challenging. Searching for greener products and suppliers is not straightforward. Although it is impossible to get a hang of all certification out there, 5 questions can help you to get a good feeling: A) What do they assess?i.e., carbon footprints or working conditions | processes or products? B) Who is doing them?i.e., independent assessments? C) How is the assessment conducted?i.e., On site or Desktop (latter refers to companies is simply submitting documents to be reviewed) D) How often it has to be renewed?i.e., how long is the certification valid? E) How difficult is it to score well or how impactful are changes that lead to successful certificationi.e., are requirements meaningful and actually require “above average” change? The last question is obviously somewhat subjective and depends a lot on what you are looking for. Furthermore, it will vary in which year and which company size you look at. Therefore, we leave it up to you to make your decision ; ) Here are 5 of the most important certifications and assessments to know about: 1. EcoVadis A) EcoVadis assesses the environmental, social, and ethical performance of companies across various industries and sizes. B) EcoVadis is a private company. C) Both on-site and desktop assessments are conducted to evaluate the environmental and social practices of the company. D) EcoVadis certification is typically renewed annually. 2. ISO (International Organization for Standardization) A) ISO certifications such as ISO 14001 for environmental protection, ISO 50001 for energy management, and ISO 14064 for greenhouse gas emissions, evaluate specific aspects of environmentally aspects. However, ISO certifications are also available for other aspects. B) Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) oversee ISO certifications, ensuring compliance with international standards. C) ISO certifications involve both on-site assessments and desktop evaluations to verify adherence to standards. D) ISO certifications typically require renewal every three years. 3. The Act Label by My Green Lab A) The Act Label, initiated by My Green Lab, attempts to evaluates the footprint of laboratory equipment from consumables, equipment to chemicals and reagents. B) This certification is given out by My Green Lab, a non-profit organization in corporation with the SMS Collaborative, LLC. which is Limited liability company which has been acquired by Parallel another LLC for sustainability strategies. C) The Act Label only involves desktop assessments to evaluate sustainability practices within labs. D) Renewal of The Act Label certification occurs annually. 4. ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) A) ISCC is an independent multi-stakeholder initiative that assesses sustainability and carbon certification across various industries. They offer multiple certifications such as ISCC Carbon Footprint Certification for Carbon footprint certification across a value chains or ISCC PLUS for the bioeconomy and circular economy for food, feed, chemicals etc. B) Associate bodies of ISCC oversee the certification process, ensuring adherence to sustainability standards. C) The need for on-site assessments varies depending on the risk factors associated with the industry or organization. D) ISCC certification typically requires annual renewal. 5. Energy Star A) Energy Star certification is geared towards products, buildings, heating & cooling systems assessing their energy efficiency and environmental impact. B) The Energy Star program is a government initiative aimed at promoting energy-efficient products. It is run program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Therefore, it only can received in Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Switzerland, United States while there have been agreements with countries in the EU. C) Energy Star certification involves a verification program to assess product energy efficiency, typically conducted through desktop evaluations. D) Renewal of Energy Star certification is required annually.
A Concrete Guide To Greener Laboratories For Beginners
How do you feel when I tell you that by following these 5 simple steps you already walked half the way to a green laboratory. It is all about you having an open mind when doing your research. This is all it needs to be more sustainable!