Sustainable research laboratory

General information for laboratory researchers

Green lab is an innovative approach to reduce consumption in laboratory research, which can be achieved through various ways. The non-profit organization ‘my green lab’ provides a wealth of information on achieving sustainable developments. Several well-known universities across the world have developed their sustainability development programs, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Princeton University, University of Edinburgh, Uppsala University.

Networking opportunities towards sustainable development

For those of you who would like to become a part of an international network and work towards sustainable development in research, you will find more information from the ‘Sustainable European Laboratories Network’ or ‘The federation of European biochemical societies’. National networking cooperation can be initiated by joining the ‘Towards Greener Research Network’.

Sustainable development needs safer chemicals

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) provides a detailed description on how to minimize environmental footprint of research through their website.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) highlighted the availability and possibilities of safer chemical alternatives which can be used to replace harmful/toxic chemicals used in laboratory research.

The Swedish Chemicals Agency (KEMI) lays down the details of substitution of hazardous substances and the process involved with guidance for users.

There are also several blogposts which can be an interesting source of inspiration for developing a sustainable laboratory, for example – Biosistemika and BiteSizeBio.