Get Green Lab Certification with the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF).
The Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) is a certification scheme designed to enable staff and students to understand and improve the sustainability and efficiency of their laboratory areas.
The Framework criteria focus on areas like equipment, people, waste, sample and chemical management and research quality. Completion of the criteria by users allows them to achieve a sequential Bronze, Silver and Gold standard for their lab areas. One of the key features of LEAF is that it allows users to quantify both financial and carbon savings, so that each area can see first-hand how much of a difference their actions make.
LEAF teams are very flexible and are set up and organised by the local users. Anyone can initiate and lead a team from technical staff and lab managers to research staff and students. A team might be a research group, a group of staff and students working in a single lab area or technical staff working across a group of labs, it’s designed to be flexible.
The type of Lab areas that can participate is broad and covers teaching, wet labs, IT labs, engineering labs, workshop and behaviour labs. LEAF is not designed for implementation across whole buildings.
If you would like to take part in LEAF please register using this form.
Following registration, you will be set up on the LEAF platform and added to QMUL Green Labs on Teams, where you will find further information and resources to help your team on its sustainability journey. Your team will be given a list of clear and easy to implement environmental actions that should be carried out over the year (you may well already be doing some of them them). These actions are subdivided into Bronze, Silver and Gold criteria which you progress through in turn. The actions are not time intensive and most teams should be able to achieve bronze level with 2 - 4 hours’ worth or work.
Find out what lab teams from Queen Mary think about the scheme:
Dr Valentina Rapisarda, Teaching Technician Manager in the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences said: “When the LEAF-Green Lab Certification Scheme was launched at Queen Mary, I welcomed this as an opportunity for me and my team to improve our waste disposal procedures in our labs and communicate these to our students and staff members using our facilities.
With a little bit of effort and creativity, we have recently managed to receive the LEAF Bronze Award and we are extremely proud of this. We are now looking forward to progress to the next step, which will be the Silver award.
I strongly encourage other labs within Queen Mary to become part of the LEAF-Green Lab Certification Scheme. With little effort from lab members/users, we can have a strong and hopefully long-lasting impact.” Dr Pamela Swiatlowska, Postdoctoral research Assistant in the School of Engineering and Materials Science said: “As members of younger generation, we pay particular attention to making a positive impact on the environment. Unfortunately, laboratory byproducts, such as plastic packaging or constantly turned-on electrical equipment, are indifferent to the environment. Therefore, as scientists we want to minimize as much as possible the lab environmental impact, a side effect of our work.
Taking part in LEAF was an excellent teamwork experience, working altogether for a good cause. Implementing changes to be more planet-friendly, does not require a huge effort, but it can make a significant difference. Start small and go green!”
For any queries please contact the Sustainability Team at sustainability@qmul.ac.uk