The members of the CRC1218 are committed to conducting excellent research while minimizing the environmental impact of our scientific activities.

Laboratories are among the most resource-intensive environments in academia, and we believe that sustainable science is both a responsibility and an opportunity to improve efficiency, safety, and awareness.

We actively encourage CRC1218 researchers to adopt sustainable laboratory practices in their daily work. 

The CRC1218 Sustainability team regularly discusses and implements measures to reduce waste, save energy, and promote mindful resource use.

In practice, this includes:

• Turning off instruments, lights, and computers when not in use.
• Keeping fume hood sashes closed to reduce energy loss.
• Optimizing the use and temperature of freezers, incubators, and other large equipment.
• Sharing instruments and core facilities to maximize efficiency.
• Reducing single-use plastics and improving recycling streams.
• Selecting safer and greener reagents and cleaning procedures.
• Use the bike or public transportation to go to work.
• Compensate the carbon footprint of our travels.

Our team follows recommendations from international initiatives such as My Green Lab and LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework), and collaborates with other sustainability teams on campus to continuously improve our practices.

By integrating sustainability into everyday laboratory routines and raising awareness among researchers, we aim to foster a culture of responsible, energy-efficient, and future-oriented science, where innovation and environmental stewardship go hand in hand.

Resources: 

Green Labs: a guide to developing sustainable science in organizations (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/imcb.12624)

Alliance for Life Sciences: From Strategies to Actions  in Central and Eastern Europe (https://alliance4life.com/media/3802405/d17_green_labs_best_practice_964997.pdf)

EFLM Green Lab guide (https://www.eflm.eu/upload/docs/EFLM-GREEN-LAB-BOOKLET.pdf)

A guidebook for sustainability in laboratories (https://chemrxiv.org/engage/chemrxiv/article-details/65676e34cf8b3c3cd768e503)

My Green Lab (https://mygreenlab.org/certification-resources/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

LEAF (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sustainable/sites/sustainable/files/leaf_brochure_final_screen.pdf)