I am excited to join Trinity College Dublin as the new Green Labs Officer. My background is in Biomedical Sciences, with a specialization in Physiology, and I have extensive experience working in a variety of labs across the college. I began my career as a researcher at the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, where I was involved in the first Green Lab accredited labs at Trinity. I then transitioned to a position at the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute and later joined the research team at the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, working part-time at St. Vincent’s University Hospital Education and Research Centre.

Throughout my time at Trinity College, I have gained a comprehensive understanding of research from both the lab bench and administrative perspectives, including procurement and lab management. My expertise includes histological techniques, cell culture, immunological assays, and biobanking.

What drew me to the Green Labs Manager role is my deep interest in microplastics, particularly their impact on human health and the environment. As plastic waste is a significant issue in scientific labs, I have always been conscious of its environmental impact. In this new role, I am committed not only to reducing plastic use in labs but also to promoting and implementing other sustainable practices across Trinity’s research facilities.

My main duties include the following:

• To help labs across college achieve My Green Lab certification.

• Work with certified labs under the My Green Lab and SFI Sustainable Labs programs to share best practices, challenges, and achievements both within Trinity and externally. Connect labs with relevant college offices to address issues such as waste and procurement.

• Establish a Green Labs steering committee to enhance support for sustainable lab practices and increase lab accreditation across the university.

• Conduct site visits to labs, engaging directly with research scientists to promote green lab practices.

• Collaborate with the Postgraduate Renewal Programme office to integrate green lab practices into postgraduate curricula.

In what we believe will prove to be a hugely significant event for the IGL community, on October19th, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) launched its Climate Action Strategy for 2024-2027. The strategy is built around three pillars: 1) Funding Excellent Research that will Shape a Sustainable Future; 2) Moving Knowledge and Talent through our Society and Economy; and 3) Conducting Research and Related Activities Sustainably.

SFI is the first national funding agency in the world to partner with My Green Lab in a pilot green lab certification programme. In this very exciting move, clear objectives and measures of success are laid out in the strategy document. An over-arching goal is that Ireland should “….become the first country to adopt a holistic, proven and widely supported approach to sustainable research at a national level.”

The belief that lab greening will be an impactful action is reflected in the speed at which SFI will run the pilot certification programme. Funded/Principal investigators (i.e., individuals who have a research group that is conducting research funded by SFI) must apply to the scheme before 1 pm on November 7th, if they wish their lab to be in the first tranche of 50 to pursue My Green Lab’s Certification Programme. Our network can help to accelerate this action by sharing this excellent news with friends and colleagues who are in SFI-funded labs.

Those who miss the first round will be able to apply in January to be in the second tranche. Watch this space!

https://www.sfi.ie/research-news/publications/SFI-Climate-Strategy.pdf

https://www.mygreenlab.org/green-lab-certification.html

Heading: The rise of lab greening as a climate action – ‘Earth Day’ launch of Irish Green Labs

Subheading: Over 100 labs across Ireland pursuing green lab programmes and practices

A voluntary collective of lab professionals has formed an all-island network called Irish Green labs. Their shared ambition is to minimise the negative impact that laboratories on the island are known to be having on the environment.  All sectors of society are dependent on laboratory services. Similar to data centres, laboratories use constant and significant amounts of energy, additionally they contribute high volumes of waste in the form of single-use plastics and hazardous chemicals.

This evidence-based network of individuals, institutions and industries, created on the island of Ireland will be an open platform supporting green lab practices locally and globally, acting as a catalyst for the system level change that is essential for us to meet the challenges of mandatory carbon zero targets.

Following the Oireachtas approval of the national carbon budget on 6 April 2022, the breakdown of this budget into sectoral budgets is expected to be presented to Government by end June 2022.  The implementation of these legally binding targets by institutions will be crucial if targets are to be met, as public sector bodies will be required to reduce their absolute energy-related emissions by at least 51% by 2030.  With labs accounting for 30-50% of energy related emission in many institutions, they will have a major role to play in meeting decarbonisation targets in the Republic of Ireland.

(Photo by Louis Reed on Unsplash)

Importantly, the Irish Green Labs initiative aligns with the UNFCCC’s ‘race-to-zero’ report, published by the 2021 UNFCCC champions Nigel Topping (UK) and Gonzalez Munoz (Chile). The champions recommended that “95% of labs across major pharma and med tech companies are My Green Lab certified at the green level by 2030” (https://racetozero.unfccc.int/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2020-Breakthroughs-Upgrading-our-sytems-together.pdf).

Current IGL member organisations include Atlantic Technological University, Foras na Mara (Marine Institute), HSE Public Analyst Laboratory (Dublin and Cork), NUI Galway, Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork, University of Ulster, Queen’s University Belfast.  The initiative has also been endorsed by the Academy of Clinical Science and Laboratory Medicine, Dementia Research Network Ireland, Educational Procurement Services, the HSE Estates Climate Action & Sustainability Office, Irish Doctors for the Environment, and Neuroscience Ireland.

For more information, contact info@irishgreenlabs.org.

Twitter: @irishgreenlabs.

Phone: Una FitzGerald, 087 2022013.

Click here for a summary of Grain4Lab:

1 Freeland B, McCarthy E, Balakrishnan R, Fahy S, Boland A, Rochfort KD, Doaros M, Marti R, Kelleher SM, Gaughran J (2022) A Review of Polylactic Acid as a Replacement Material for Single-Use Laboratory Components: Materials 2022, 15(9), 2989; https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/9/2989

Just over 3,000 shellfish samples were tested for biotoxins in the Marine Institute in 2019, requiring 5,700 tests for 23 different analytes. The first opportunity for improved sustainability was the diversion from landfill/incineration of polystyrene boxes in which shellfish samples were shipped from all over Ireland to the institute. Boxes are now cleaned prior to being compacted for recycling by Offaly-based ‘Waste Matters’ (https://wastematters.ie/waste-matters), into fish boxes or insulation for the construction industry. Next, 200 ml plastic containers, previously used to hold shellfish samples, were replaced by a compostable cardboard equivalent.

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