They have won Silver Sustainable Lab Awards which recognise progress in improving environmental sustainability across relevant labs and supporting the University’s commitment to sustainable research.
Environmental concordat
Two years ago, the University of Edinburgh became a signatory of the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation practice, developed by more than 25 research institutes, including UKRI and Wellcome.
The Concordat commits the University to ensuring research and innovation is carried out in an environmentally sustainable way, with a focus on laboratories – due to their relatively large environmental impact compared to other workspaces.
Dedicated approach
Over the past 18 months, teams from the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) and the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (CMVM) have embedded sustainable practices into their labs.
Local sustainability leads from each College worked with the University’s Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability (SRS) to find ways of achieving the accreditation in line with their ways of working.
Sustainable innovations
The Colleges took different approaches to achieving their silver award, both leading to significant progress in sustainable lab practices.
CMVM adopted a whole-College approach using an innovative strategy led by sustainability coordinator, Neil Johnston.
Examples of new approaches include adopting a policy of switching their ultra-low temperature freezers from -80C settings to -70C, where scientifically possible.
The College also introduced an integrated equipment registration and booking system – highlighting where sustainable procedures could make an impact on purchasing and equipment sharing.
A microbiology lab managed by Dr Prerna Vohra from the School of Biological Sciences has significantly reduced its use of single-use plastics and is currently developing workflows to re-use petri dishes.
Cardboard boxes are also repurposed for freezer storage, and where possible Dr Vohra’s team re-uses everything they can including envelopes, plastic bags, filtration bottles and ice packs.
Lab auditors
SRS has been training a pool of auditors to observe, shadow and eventually lead sustainability audits in labs across the University.
The training has helped new auditors to improve sustainable research practices through discussing best practice and learning about other sustainability initiatives being trialled across the University.
Previous commitment
The University has been operating its own lab sustainability scheme since 2013, as part of a long-term commitment to mitigating the impact of its scientific research and teaching.
Several large research funders to the University have also made achieving a level of sustainable lab accreditation a condition of receiving funding from 2026 onwards.
The Lab Awards are updated every two years and run on a rolling basis.
Sustainability pledge
The University of Edinburgh is committed to creating a more sustainable world through its world-leading research, teaching, partnerships and innovations.
It is recognised as one of the world’s top universities for environmental and social impact. Tackling the climate and environmental emergencies is a key part of the University’s mission to become carbon neutral by 2040.