In this webinar, we heard from speakers whose roles centre on increasing the environmental sustainability of laboratory work through the implementation of sustainable lab programmes, in particular the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF).

With the global concern of climate change, both industry and academia have been instigating measures to reduce their environmental impact and to reduce the amount of waste generated through their work. This has been no less pressing in biomedical laboratories, which have a significant carbon footprint. Using data-driven objectives for reducing energy use and waste, and providing realistic and actionable processes, these schemes are increasingly being used in laboratories across the UK and the speakers will provide an introduction to them and answer any questions about the access and implementation of such schemes.

During this session we heard an introduction to the LEAF platform, followed by a talk from the Sustainability Team in Oxford about setting up local infrastructure for sustainable labs, and finally a Lab Manager directly involved in carrying out sustainable labs initiatives.

Invited speakers:

• Martin Farley, UCL (LEAF programme) and King’s College London
• Saroj Saurya, Dunn School, University of Oxford
• Charlotte Houghton, University of Oxford

This webinar was chaired by Dr Benjamin Foster, Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford and member of the Biochemical Society's Research Area V: Signalling.