Sustainable Laboratories

• You can use timer switches or built-in functions to do this automatically.
• Use our colour-coded stickers. 

Do you know that shutting a fume cupboard sash reduces its air flow, energy consumption and carbon emissions by up to 40%?

• So always close your fume cupboard sash when not in use and reduce the amount of heated or cooled air escaping the room.
• Use our shut the sash stickers.

Be conscious of what and how much you use.

• Plan ahead to use the minimum amount of chemicals and samples.
• Check if your chemical is already available and order only as much as you need.
• Avoid disposable sterile plastics if possible.
• Consider which samples you really need to keep and for how long, and label accordingly. Are you making the best use of storage space?

Before buying new equipment, think about what is already available. Most departments list their equipment and research facilities in this online searchable database.  

Sharing equipment has lots of benefits:

• Share the cost - use existing equipment or make yours available to other departments for a small fee.
• Share the space - less equipment means more space.
• Share the joy - meet other researchers working with similar methods.
• Save time - if you use existing equipment you do not need to worry about purchasing procedures and delivery times.

Freezers use a lot of energy - using space efficiently means fewer new ones need to be added. 

• Label samples, including expiry date, and clear out old samples regularly.
• Keep fridges and freezers clean and organised to ensure they keep your samples safe for years to come.
• Don't store items on top of freezers - it reduces the air circulation that freezers need to work efficiently.
• Report any issues like heavy icing, broken seals or dirty filters to the freezer manager.
• Use our new freezer stickers.
• Watch our best practice videos covering sustainable labs and efficient freezers. 

Check if others can make use of your unwanted chemicals and equipment

Find out how to dispose of items in the safest and most sustainable way:

• Visit Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
• For the disposal of hazardous waste visit the Safety Office website. 
• Remember to visit our WARPit site for equipment only. This is our online platform for equipment reuse.
• For equipment/asset resale use UniGreenScheme. They collect, store and sell surplus equipment and return a share of the profits to the department. Staff and students can find the agreement summary here.