Environmental Research Group receive gold award for sustainable lab practices

ERG Sustainability Champions. (L-R) Dr Helena Rapp Wright, Amber Vaughan and Dr Ana Oliete. Not pictured Holly Walder

The Environmental Research Group has received a Gold LEAF award for improving the sustainability and efficiency of their lab work.

The Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework is an accreditation scheme designed to improve sustainability within higher education teaching and research. The scheme, established by UCL, encourages laboratories to implement sustainable practices, improve energy efficiency, and consider sustainability in every aspect of research.   

It is estimated that laboratories are responsible for around 2% of global plastic waste and use 3-10 times more energy per meter squared than a typical office. 

The Environmental Research Group (ERG) laboratories, based in the Sir Michael Uren Hub on Imperial’s White City Campus, formed a team of sustainability champions composed of PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and technicians to drive improvements in efficiency and reducing waste. 

This team focused on changing the culture of staff working in the labs and tackled single-use plastics, raised awareness of energy consumption, advised on appropriate waste streams and sharing, donating or selling of surplus consumables and equipment. 

Dr Ana Oliete, ERG Lab Manager and Sustainability Champion said: “It is an honour to receive a gold LEAF award for our sustainability efforts. The team are incredibly proud of this achievement, but we are not stopping here. Work is ongoing and the team already has already started developing ideas for our next areas of improvement.”  

The ERG team was first awarded a LEAF bronze award in 2022, which was later upgraded to a silver award. A commitment to continual improvement and refining small but crucial actions has now culminated in the gold LEAF award. 

Professor Frank Kelly, Director of the Environmental Research Group and Faculty of Medicine Representative on Imperial’s Sustainability Strategy Committee, said: “I am delighted to see the hard work of our sustainability champions recognised with a gold LEAF award. The team have worked tirelessly to improve sustainability practices in our laboratories. Our research aims to reduce the impact of pollution on health, and it is therefore important to do this in the most sustainable way possible. We are constantly looking at ways to reduce the carbon footprint of our research."