Revision as of 10:29, 4 October 2025

Modules

Green Labs, Smarter Science: Practical Steps for Sustainable Research and Innovation

Instructions for:TraineeTrainer

Related Initiative

Goal

The world is facing several pressing environmental issues such as climate change and air pollution that need to be urgently addressed. As lab managers, researchers, innovators, and students, our work aims to solve these environmental challenges. Ironically, many scientific labs consume excessive energy, generate significant material waste, and rely on unsustainable equipment, substantially increasing their carbon footprints. However, the good news is that simple, practical actions can make a big difference. What could these practical actions be?

This micromodule is designed to equip learners with the knowledge and tools needed to make labs more environmentally friendly, thereby contributing to a Green Transition. Through real-world examples and a case study showcasing eco-friendly lab management practices, this micromodule will foster learning and critical reflection on how greening strategies can be tailored to specific contexts and scale up for a broader outreach.

By the end of the module, participants should be to:

Raise awareness about sustainable laboratory (lab) management through environmentally friendly practices that promote green labs, improve research efficiency and drive smarter innovation.

Participants should also be able to:

Identify daily small actions that can be undertaken to make labs more environmentally friendly.
Examine the case of inefficient energy use in labs to identify underlying causes and propose improvement strategies.
Reflect on how changes towards sustainable management should be implemented

Duration (hours)

1

For whom is this important?

ResearchersStudentsLaboratory managers

Method

Individual learning

Steps

1Learn: Practical actions for making labs more sustainable

2Reflect: How can we save energy in labs?

3Final quiz

4Final reflection

Steps