According to a report by Wellcome, implementing sustainable practices in health research can help reduce its carbon footprint.
Labs' energy consumption and waste production contribute to the climate crisis, with a clinical trial producing up to 80 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
Refrigerators and freezers are major energy consumers, and lab research generated 5.5mn tonnes of plastic waste globally in 2015.
The LEAF program awards participating labs a gold, silver, or bronze certificate depending on their sustainability level and has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 648 tonnes over a 2-year trial period at 23 research sites in the United Kingdom and Ireland. LEAF’s reach has now spread to 85 institutions in 16 countries.
Allison Hunter, lab-efficiency resource adviser at Imperial College London, stresses that scientists are increasingly concerned about sustainability. Wellcome’s report detected that most sustainability initiatives are driven by individual scientists passionate about the issue.
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