Sustainability
Here at the LMS, we know that our world-changing research can only be beneficial if the world is still here to benefit from it. Research institutes consume a lot of energy and can produce a lot of waste, which can negatively impact the environment.
Laboratories contribute up to 2% of all the world’s single-use plastics. Falcon tubes, Eppendorf tubes, tips, tip boxes and flasks are all examples of single-use plastics that we use on a daily basis.
We’re committed to making our research practices as sustainable as possible.
Greening LMS
Greening LMS is a group of staff and students dedicated to improving sustainability across our labs. They are working to ensure the LMS’ carbon footprint is as low as possible without impacting the quality of research.
The group’s achievements so far include:
- Acquiring funding for a full time Sustainability Officer
- Winning the LEAF Silver Award
- Securing £70,000 in MRC funding for initiatives including reducing plastic waste, better chemical inventory management and more public engagement
Nicola Rodricks
Sustainability Officer
Nicola’s appointment marks the LMS’ key ambitions to achieve the prestigious sustainability Gold LEAF award by the end of this year and meet UKRI environmental goals by 2040.
Julia Needham
Julia started off as a general helper for the Greening Committee alongside her PhD studies and became Head of Greening in 2022. Initially working on smaller projects, she helped the institute swap over to sustainable stationery and paper, with all paper used by the institute now coming from recycled sources.
More recently she was a key part in securing funding for a permanent Sustainability Officer for the institute funded by an MRC Green Grant. During her tenure, the Greening LMS committee received multi-year funding of over £200,000 from MRC grants for several projects including chemical management software, non-recyclable plastic disposal and sustainable regeneration of lab equipment. She also presented the work that Greening LMS does to HRH Princess Anne on a recent visit to the institute, supported by her submission on behalf of Greening LMS to the Picture of Health Exhibition.
Julia has just finished her PhD and will take her skills and passion for sustainable science to other institutes.
The Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF)
The LMS is proudly accredited by the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF). LEAF is an environmental accreditation scheme designed to improve sustainability within higher education teaching and research. The aim of the project is to reduce carbon footprints and improve sustainability of individual labs, whilst also reducing costs.
The framework enables individual staff from all departments to quantify their environmental and financial impact.