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Green Impact

As a team, we are aware of the environmental impact of our work - in particular, the high energy and materials use of our experiments. This means we have a responsibility to adopt sustainable practices wherever possible.

We participate in the Green Impact Lab Accreditation scheme, an international programme created by Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS-UK), which provides us with a toolkit for working towards more sustainable practices. Our laboratory spaces and management protocols are audited annually as part of this process.

Examples of the kinds of things we do:

  • Changing the operating parameters for our most energy-consuming pieces of equipment to reduce their energy usage (for example, running freezers warmer, running the air conditioning less),

  • Maintaining good laboratory management practices to minimise the wastage of materials,

  • Implementing recycling protocols for our disposable plasticware and other waste, to ensure that anything that can be recycled, is.

As a results of our efforts, our new laboratory was audited and awarded Green Impact Laboratories Accrediation (GILA) in its first year - demonstrating our committment.

Graphic from GILA scheme indicating Green Impact Team Member status