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Transforming our future

Sustainability in the research and innovation endeavour

This conference will explore possibilities for enhancing the environmental sustainability of research and innovation activities in both wet and dry laboratory environments.

  • 16 - 17 May 2023, 09:20 - 17:30
  • Free
Add to Calendar 05/16/23 09:20 AM 05/17/23 05:30 PM United Kingdom (GMT) Sustainability in the research and innovation endeavour <p>This conference will explore the possibilities for improving environmental sustainability in research and innovation.</p>
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Overview Organisers Programme

Overview

This conference will explore possibilities for enhancing the environmental sustainability of research and innovation activities in both wet and dry laboratory environments.

 

This hybrid Royal Society conference, developed in partnership with the Royal Society of Chemistry, will offer a forum to connect a broad range of individuals working within both wet and dry laboratory environments who have an interest in enhancing the environmental sustainability of research and innovation activities. These will include senior leaders from industry and academia as well as scientists, technicians, and students.

It will take a discursive approach to highlight and explore this topic, consider trade-offs and myths, examine examples of good practice and promising innovations, explore current and future challenges, discuss how progress might be measured, and foster opportunities for collaboration. The conference will contain a number of elements, including:

  • a series of roundtable discussions
  • reflections from the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Academy of Medical Sciences on recent publications and workshops
  • future direction of travel for the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework
  • case studies from industry
  • discussion about metrics, data collection, and lifecycle assessments
  • Scope 3 emissions
  • a discussion for laboratory scientists, technicians and data scientists
  • discussion with funding bodies

There will also be unstructured time during refreshment breaks for networking and discussion. 

About the conference series

Supported by Rolls Royce, this meeting forms part of the Royal Society’s Transforming our future series. These meetings are unique, high-level events that address the scientific and technical challenges of the next decade. Each conference features cutting-edge science from industry and academia and brings together leading experts from the scientific community, including regulatory, charity and funding bodies. A written report will be published within three months of the conference.

Attending this event

  • This will be a hybrid event
  • In-person attendance is invitation only
  • Please register to attend online
  • For the programme, scroll down and click on the arrows to see the speakers and abstracts for their talks
  • The Royal Society has an acceptable use policy for all online events, and we expect our users to abide by these guidelines
  • For any queries or accessibility requirements, please email the Industry Team.
The Royal Society

Organisers

Professor Helen Sneddon

University of York, UK

Professor Helen Sneddon

University of York, UK

Professor Helen Sneddon carried out her MSci and PhD at the University of Cambridge, where she studied the use of dithianes in organic synthesis in Professor Steve Ley’s group. She then moved to University of California Irvine to work with Professor Larry Overman exploring the catalytic asymmetric chemistry of palladium(II) as a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 research fellow. 

She then worked at GSK for 15 years. She started in Medicinal Chemistry, but became increasingly involved in making synthetic processes and research operations as efficient and sustainable as possible.

In 2011, she successfully pitched that GSK should have a group focussed solely on Green Chemistry, and she led Green Chemistry for GSK until taking up position the Director of the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York in April 2022. Her current research interests include solvent and reagent selection, halogenation (both exploring more sustainable ways of installing halogens and whether they are really necessary) and laboratory sustainability.

Professor Roger Sheldon

Delft University of Technology

Professor Roger Sheldon

Delft University of Technology

Roger Sheldon is a recognised authority on green chemistry and catalysis and is widely known for developing the concept of E factors for assessing the environmental footprint of chemical processes. He is Professor Emeritus of Biocatalysis and Organic Chemistry of Delft University of Technology and Chief Executive Officer of CLEA Technologies. He is the author of several books on catalysis as well as more than 450 professional papers and 50 granted patents. His research interests are in the general area of green chemistry, (bio)catalysis and enzyme immobilisation.

He has a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Leicester (UK) and prior to joining Delft University, in 1991, he had more than 20 years industrial experience, as Vice President for Research and Development at DSM/Andeno from 1980 to 1990 and with Shell Research Amsterdam from 1969 to 1980.

Schedule

09:30-10:30
Opening remarks and keynote
2 talks
09:20-09:30
Opening remarks
09:40-10:30
Keynote address

Speakers

Professor Helen Sneddon

University of York, UK

Professor Helen Sneddon

University of York, UK

Professor Helen Sneddon carried out her MSci and PhD at the University of Cambridge, where she studied the use of dithianes in organic synthesis in Professor Steve Ley’s group. She then moved to University of California Irvine to work with Professor Larry Overman exploring the catalytic asymmetric chemistry of palladium(II) as a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 research fellow. 

She then worked at GSK for 15 years. She started in Medicinal Chemistry, but became increasingly involved in making synthetic processes and research operations as efficient and sustainable as possible.

In 2011, she successfully pitched that GSK should have a group focussed solely on Green Chemistry, and she led Green Chemistry for GSK until taking up position the Director of the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York in April 2022. Her current research interests include solvent and reagent selection, halogenation (both exploring more sustainable ways of installing halogens and whether they are really necessary) and laboratory sustainability.

10:30-11:00
Break
11:00-12:50
Roundtable discussion sessions
12:50-14:00
Lunch
14:00-14:05
Introduction to the afternoon sessions
14:05-15:05
Metrics, lifecycle assessments and standard-setting
3 talks
14:05-14:25
14:25-14:45
14:45-15:05
15:05-15:50
The Laboratory Assessment Framework (LEAF): future directions

Chair

Martin Farley

UCL

Martin Farley

UCL

15:50-16:20
Break
16:20-17:20
Panel discussion: Laboratory scientists, technicians and bioinformaticians - future challenges and opportunities
16:20-17:20
Panel discussion

Speakers

Lee Hibbett

University of Nottingham, UK

Lee Hibbett

University of Nottingham, UK

Richard Gammons

University of York, UK

Richard Gammons

University of York, UK

Dr Loïc Lannelongue

University of Cambridge, UK

Dr Loïc Lannelongue

University of Cambridge, UK

Loïc is a Research Associate in Biomedical Data Science in the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge. He leads the Green Algorithms project, an initiative promoting more environmentally sustainable computational science. His research interests also include combining medical imaging and genetic information with machine learning to better understand and treat cardiovascular diseases.

He obtained an MSc from ENSAE, the French National School of Statistics, and an MSc from the University of Oxford, before doing his PhD at the University of Cambridge as part of the Cambridge-Baker Systems Genomics Initiative.

He is a Software Sustainability Institute Fellow, a Post-doctoral Associate at Jesus College, Cambridge, and an Associate Fellow of Advance HE.

17:20-17:25
Closing remarks
09:20-09:30
Opening remarks
09:00-09:05
Opening remarks
09:30-09:45
Roundtable feedback
09:45-10:35
The Royal Society of Chemistry: Sustainable laboratories report
10:35-11:05
Break
11:05-11:55
The Academy of Medical Sciences: enabling environmentally sustainable biomedical research
11:05-11:55
AMS conclusions from FORUM workshop on 'enabling environmentally sustainable biomedical research'

Speakers

Professor Paula Williamson FMedSci

University of Liverpool

Professor Paula Williamson FMedSci

University of Liverpool

Paula Williamson is Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Liverpool. Her research programme has focussed on several aspects of evidence-based medicine (EBM) including clinical trials, meta-analysis, health outcome selection and reducing waste in research. She was appointed as an NIHR Senior Investigator in 2014, gave the Bradford Hill Lecture in 2017, and was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) in 2018 and to AMS Council in 2021.

She chaired the MRC Network of Hubs for Trials Methodology Research from 2008-2018 and led a successful bid for a new MRC Trials Methodology Research Partnership from 2019, bringing together major organisations and 25 UK universities. She leads an MRC Doctoral Training Programme in Trials Methodology across 12 Research Organisations.

Paula co-founded the global COMET (Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials) Initiative in 2010, to improve the quality and relevance of health research to decision makers including patients, health professionals, regulators and policymakers. COMET was the winner of the international Cochrane-REWARD prize in 2017 for reducing waste in research. 

Professor Frank Kelly FMedSci

Imperial College London

Professor Frank Kelly FMedSci

Imperial College London

Professor Kelly holds the Humphrey Battcock Chair in Community Health and Policy at Imperial College London, where he is Director of the Environmental Research Group, Director of the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit on Environment and Health and Deputy Director of the MRC-PHE Centre for Environment & Health.

Prof Kelly leads a substantial research activity which spans all aspects of air pollution research from toxicology to science policy. He has led studies of the urban airshed within London including the impact of the introduction of London’s Congestion Charging Zone and Low Emission Zone.  He is past Chairman of the British Association for Lung Research and COMEAP, the UK’s Department of Health & Social Care Expert Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants.  He provides policy support to the WHO on air pollution issues and he is a member of the US Health Effects Institute Review Committee.

11:55-12:55
Scope 3 emissions
4 talks

Chair

Martin Farley

UCL

Martin Farley

UCL

11:55-12:10
12:10-12:25
12:25-12:40
12:40-12:55
Q&A and discussion
12:55-13:55
Lunch
13:55-14:00
Introduction to the afternoon sessions
14:00-15:45
Case studies from industry
2 talks

Chair

Professor Helen Sneddon

University of York, UK

Professor Helen Sneddon

University of York, UK

Professor Helen Sneddon carried out her MSci and PhD at the University of Cambridge, where she studied the use of dithianes in organic synthesis in Professor Steve Ley’s group. She then moved to University of California Irvine to work with Professor Larry Overman exploring the catalytic asymmetric chemistry of palladium(II) as a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 research fellow. 

She then worked at GSK for 15 years. She started in Medicinal Chemistry, but became increasingly involved in making synthetic processes and research operations as efficient and sustainable as possible.

In 2011, she successfully pitched that GSK should have a group focussed solely on Green Chemistry, and she led Green Chemistry for GSK until taking up position the Director of the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York in April 2022. Her current research interests include solvent and reagent selection, halogenation (both exploring more sustainable ways of installing halogens and whether they are really necessary) and laboratory sustainability.

14:00-14:20

Speakers

Rachael Everard

Rolls Royce

Rachael Everard

Rolls Royce

14:20-14:40

Speakers

Steve Swallow

AstraZeneca

Steve Swallow

AstraZeneca

15:45-16:15
Break
16:15-17:15
Panel discussion
16:15-17:15
Panel discussion

Speakers

Steve Swallow

AstraZeneca

Steve Swallow

AstraZeneca

17:15-17:20
Closing remarks

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