Lab Sustainability: A Holistic Approach

Listicle 1 Lab Sustainability: A Holistic Approach Srividya Kailasam, PhD Laboratories are complex spaces that cater to different disciplines and are designed to carry out activities ranging from wet chemical reactions and microbiological studies to analysis using sophisticated instruments. They may be operated as independent commercial establishments (e.g., testing labs), or they could be part of educational or research institutions, companies and hospitals. Given this diversity, the need for heating and cooling, and the presence of energy-intensive instruments, it is hardly surprising that labs consume inordinate amounts of resources and generate large volumes of waste. These could be both solid and liquid and possibly infectious. In the past few years, there has been an increasing awareness of the environmental footprint of labs and a growing trend toward “sustainable laboratories”.1 The scientific community has started to focus on areas that make labs sustainable. In a study published in 2022, My Green Lab and Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE), identified that many pharma and biotech companies have adopted zero carbon goals. In this listicle, we explore how a holistic approach that includes optimal lab design, environmentally friendly equipment and instrumentation, and awareness about the impact of labs, coupled with training and adoption of sustainable practices, is required to make labs “green”. Lab design A laboratory’s design can have a vast impact on its sustainability. Careful consideration when building, setting up or renovating a laboratory can help to reduce wastage and lead to improved energy efficiency. A lab should be designed to increase the amount of natural lighting and energy-efficient artificial lighting should be used as a supplement to the daylight. Increasing natural lighting is known to not only improve productivity, but also save costs. A white or nearly white ceiling is recommended for the proper distribution of natural lighting. Dark bench tops and reagent shelves that make the room seem darker must be avoided. While a well-lit, air-conditioned lab is essential for the proper running of sophisticated instruments, it is important to turn off the lights and air conditioning when the instruments are not in use. To ensure compliance, team members can take turns switching off the lights and equipment not in use. Regular light bulbs can be replaced with LED bulbs. Temperature control can also be achieved using chilled beams. When designing a sustainable lab, factors such as its size, layout and infrastructure flexibility must be borne in mind to minimize energy consumption and adapt to future technological changes. The use of modular and reconfigurable furniture also helps in creating a sustainable lab. LAB SUSTAINABILITY: A HOLISTIC APPROACH 2 Listicle Biosafety labs must ensure unidirectional flow of materials and personnel and incorporate controls such as negative pressure zones and airtight doors and windows to prevent highly infectious pathogens from escaping into surrounding areas. Since all materials entering a biosafety level 3 lab (BSL3) are considered biohazardous, minimizing the materials (paper, media bottles, plastics, etc.) brought into biosafety labs will reduce the necessity to autoclave and/or dispose of these materials that could otherwise be reused. Several resources are available to help with planning the creation of a sustainable lab. For example, a strategic design framework, Green Lab, has been developed to help create labs with minimal environmental impact using recycled materials. These labs should be capable of generating energy from renewable sources.2 Involving a wide range of stakeholders, applying the highest possible sustainability standards and balancing lab sustainability goals with the health and safety of personnel are suggested as the three keys to designing a sustainable lab.3 Equipment Labs depend on a huge variety of equipment, and careful consideration during its purchase, use and disposal is crucial in ensuring sustainability goals are met. When upgrading or replacing existing instruments, certified environmentally friendly options, such as those with ENERGY STAR® and ACT (Accountability, Consistency and Transparency) labels, should be purchased. The Environmental Impact Factor (EIF) criteria form the basis of creating the labels for life science products. These labels provide scores for parameters such as renewable energy used during manufacture, water consumed during use and sustainability impact at the end-of-life stage. Lower overall score indicates lesser overall environmental impact. In addition, My Green Lab certification helps the labs get their sustainability practices audited. Choosing models that consume fewer resources, including energy and solvents, helps to reduce the environmental impact. For instance, smaller autoclaves with more efficient vacuum generation systems consume less water and can be used instead of a larger model. Periodic maintenance of all lab equipment and instruments must be carried out to ensure optimal performance and energy efficiency. Keeping incubators, freezers, refrigerators and cold rooms clean and frost-free will make them more energy efficient and will increase the lifespan of these products. When possible, refurbished instruments can be used to minimize the build-up of hazardous substances and other products that cannot be recycled in the environment. Manufacturers are increasingly investing in building a circular economy for their instruments, offering incentives for labs to return their old equipment, which can be refurbished and sold on. Operation Laboratories can contain a wide range of energy-intensive equipment that often requires continuous operation. Subsequently, compared to office buildings, they typically consume 5 to 10 times more energy per square foot. Coupled with this, many processes depend on single-use plastics and use vast amounts of water. Although it is challenging for laboratories to try to match the resource consumption and waste output of a space with such different needs, several steps can be taken to improve their operational efficiency. LAB SUSTAINABILITY: A HOLISTIC APPROACH 3 Listicle Instruments such as chromatographs, mass spectrometers and spectroscopes can be shut down when not in use. Similarly, other equipment such as pH meters, balances, centrifuges and water baths can also be turned off when not in use. Equipment that doesn’t require continuous use can be fitted with programmable outlet timers, which could help to reduce equipment energy consumption by up to 50%. When in use, the sash of fume hoods should be kept in the lowest possible position to improve exhaust efficiency and thus save energy. Energy can also be saved by lowering the airflow volume when the fume hoods are not in use. When possible, ductless hoods that filter contaminated air before recirculating it can be used. Operating ultra-low temperature freezers at -70 °C instead of -80 °C saves energy without being detrimental to the samples. Labs should reduce, recycle and reuse plastic products whenever possible. Consolidating orders for plastic ware, glassware and chemicals for the different projects/experiments running in the lab or for multiple labs, buying smaller pack sizes or buying just pipette tips instead of boxed tips can reduce the plastic waste in the lab. Routine lab activities such as filtration, which is an integral part of sample preparation, generates plastic waste such as single-use syringes and filter cartridges. These and other plastic wastes, such as pipette tips, tip boxes, syringes, tubes and nitrile gloves, can be recycled instead of sending them to landfills or incineration. When recycling, care should be taken to disinfect biowastes and segregate these along with other hazardous wastes from recyclable, non-hazardous plastic wastes. A lab case report documented various approaches, such as reusing decontaminated plastic tubes and using sustainable materials like reusable wooden sticks for patch plating and metal loops for inoculation that helped reduce and reuse single-use plastics in a microbiology lab. After implementing these strategies, the lab demonstrated a 43 Kg reduction in plastic waste in 4 weeks, in addition to reducing costs.4A report from MIT demonstrates the feasibility of recycling clean lab plastics, stating that the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) office collected nearly 280 pounds of plastic waste from participating labs every week in 2022 for recycling. To minimize water consumption, taps and other water outlets can be fitted with spray nozzles or lowflow aerators, and recirculating water baths used for cooling reactions that can be carried out on a smaller scale. To reduce water wastage, leakage from faucets, autoclaves, water baths and any seepage from water pipes should be attended to as soon as possible. Washing and autoclaving should be done with minimal wastage of water. Scientists, students and lab personnel should cooperate to ensure that autoclaves are run at full capacity to reduce water as well as energy consumption. Less hazardous substitutes for chemicals and cleaning supplies should be used whenever possible. Labs and workspaces must be kept clean to prevent cross-contamination that leads to wastage. Simple actions like proper labeling and storage of chemicals will enhance their shelf-life and proper usage. Experiments should be designed to derive maximum information with minimum consumption of resources as well as minimum waste generation. This will also reduce the number of experiments and eliminate erroneous experiments. Replacing paper-based lab notebooks, operating procedures and test protocols with electronic records will help minimize paper consumption. Computers and other office equipment can be turned off when not in use. Training Educating stakeholders on the importance of sustainability is a crucial requirement for achieving a green laboratory. In addition to training the scientists on guidelines and regulations, they must be sensitized towards the ecological impact of indiscriminate usage of chemicals, glassware, plastic ware and consumption of resources, especially electricity and consequent generation of waste in the laboratories. LAB SUSTAINABILITY: A HOLISTIC APPROACH 4 Listicle The importance of education and capacity building in “green chemistry” and “sustainable chemistry” for creating greener and more sustainable processes has been described by Zuin et al.5 Sustainability in Quality Improvement (SusQI), developed by The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (CSH) adopts principles of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) such as “future thinking” and “systems thinking” and “thinking creatively” in the training programs for clinical laboratory professionals.6 Several resources are available online for learning and disseminating information regarding lab sustainability. LEAF or Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework, an independent standard for good environmental practice in labs designed by University College London, provides training, a toolkit, resources and strategies for improving the sustainability and efficiency of labs. Behavior As behavioral changes take time, training on lab sustainability must be augmented with monitoring, reminders and encouragement to implement practices that will lead to smaller carbon footprints. Educational institutions have started initiatives such as “Unplug” and “Shut the Sash” competitions to encourage lab users to adopt energy-saving practices. In the “Sustainable Laboratories” report published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, recognizing and rewarding initiatives and actions that promote sustainability in the labs has been listed as the first plan of action along with providing resources, funds and advocating for change. Leaders can make a difference by setting the right goals and performance indicators on sustainability, encouraging collaboration and, most importantly, walking the talk. The “Green Labs Guide” published by the University of Pennsylvania and sustainable research practices on Princeton University’s EHS website provide a number of strategies and checklists that can help lab managers to make their labs sustainable. Conclusion Sustainability in a lab should become a way of life. It will not only reduce the environmental impact, but also save money in the longer term, offsetting the initial investments for achieving sustainability. A “green lab” should be the collective responsibility of all the team members. A well designed and well maintained lab also contributes to higher efficiency and productivity. Awareness and taking simple steps can go a long way in improving lab sustainability. Sponsored by: References 1. Durgan J, Rodríguez-Martínez M and Rouse B. Green labs: a guide to developing sustainable science in your organization. Immunol Cell Biol. 2023;101: 289-301. doi: 10.1111/imcb.12624 2. Belibani R, Gigliarelli E, Patterson J. Green lab: a strategic design framework to develop sustainable research laboratories. In: Dincer, I., Midilli, A., Kucuk, H. (eds) Progress in Sustainable Energy Technologies Vol II. Springer, Cham. (2014). doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-07977-6_18 3. Erica Hersh. Three keys to sustainable lab design to improve health and safety. Harvard School of Public Health. https:// www.hsph.harvard.edu/ecpe/three-keys-sustainable-lab-design-improve-health-safety/. Published March 29, 2019. LAB SUSTAINABILITY: A HOLISTIC APPROACH 5 Listicle Accessed June 07, 2023. 4. Alves J, Sargison FA, Stawarz H, et al. A case report: insights into reducing plastic waste in a microbiology laboratory. Access Microbiol. 2021;3:000173. doi: 10.1099/acmi.0.000173 5. Zuin V, Eilks I, Elschami M, Kümmerer K. Education in green chemistry and in sustainable chemistry: perspectives towards sustainability. Green Chem. 2021;23:1594-1608. doi: 10.1039/D0GC03313H 6. Scott S. Embedding education into clinical laboratory professional training to foster sustainable development and greener practice. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2023;61(4): pp. 638-641. doi: 10.1515/cclm-2022-1152