Methods, the foundation for change
Lab operations matter to your sustainability mission, warns Juliet Jones.
The science laboratory industry has traditionally been resource intensive, with high consumables and energy usage being a ‘must-have’ to maintain proper scientific standards. But this uncomfortable truth can directly contradict the mission of leaving the planet unharmed. Because of this, the sector has been shifting to sustainable action such as reducing consumables to managing high-energy processes more intelligently, but there's an even smarter way of shifting how scientific research can remain nature and climate-positive.
The environmental footprint of traditional wet labs doesn’t make them any less vital for tackling our planets challenges. There are elements of research and innovation that cannot be compromised on, such as clean spaces and tools, sample replications and quality control. However, organisations working in sustainability research have a responsibility to ensure their methods do not undermine their mission.
I believe a holistic approach to lab management is needed to make the biggest impact. Introducing operational efficiencies, automation and reducing human error is at the heart of a sustainable transition
The instinct is often to make small green changes across lab operations such as sustainable materials and behavioural changes to reduce energy. However, I believe a holistic approach to lab management is needed to make the biggest impact. Introducing operational efficiencies, automation and reducing human error is at the heart of a sustainable transition.
At NatureMetrics, our technology supports biodiversity monitoring on a global scale, from the Amazon rainforest to renewable energy projects in the UK. Our company began in the lab, with our scientists analysing water and soil samples to reveal the species composition of entire ecosystems. As we’ve scaled, proper laboratory management and efficiencies have become as important as the science itself. Beyond operational challenges, fragmented data management presented a sustainability liability, putting pressure on energy consumption and resource use.
To address this, we worked with lab informatics platform Sapio Sciences to introduce a LIMS centralised digital platform to manage workflows, instruments and data across laboratory operations. This digital oversight allows us to maximise every resource; for example, by coordinating our workflows to ensure every plastic PCR plate is full before analysis, we significantly reduce the total volume of plasticware required.
By identifying issues before they progress, we prevent the costly reruns that traditionally drive up plastic waste
Crucially, this digital platform works alongside our physical automation to design-out waste. While our robotic automation streamlines processes into a single tube, eliminating the multiple plastic tubes used in traditional methods, the LIMS provides the visibility to catch errors early. By identifying issues before they progress, we prevent the costly reruns that traditionally drive up plastic waste.
Our work with Sapio is an important example of sustainability in laboratory operations, as it highlights the need for holistic solutions that are built into how businesses scale. Labs across the sector are sitting on significant, largely untapped opportunities to reduce their environmental footprint without compromising scientific output.
For laboratory managers the biggest improvements are beyond individual swaps but rather operational wide changes. Introducing a LIMS, automation and smarter workflow management has helped us ensure that what happens behind the scenes matches our ambition at an executive level.
- Juliet Jones is chief scientific officer at NatureMetrics
