Sustainability in the research and innovation endeavour

16 - 17 May 2023 09:20 - 17:30 Online Free Watch online
Sust 04 04 by Nidia Dias

This conference explored possibilities for enhancing the environmental sustainability of research and innovation activities in wet and dry laboratory environments across all scientific disciplines in both industry and academia.

This hybrid Royal Society conference, developed in partnership with the Royal Society of Chemistry, offered 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 included senior leaders from industry and academia as well as scientists, technicians, and students working in a wide range of scientific environments including physics, engineering, chemistry, biology, and clinical research.

It took a discursive approach to highlight and explore this topic, considering trade-offs and myths, examining examples of good practice and promising innovations, exploring current and future challenges, discussing how progress might be measured, and fostering opportunities for collaboration. The conference contained a number of elements, including:

  • a series of roundtable discussions
  • reflections from the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Academy of Medical Sciences’ FORUM 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 was also unstructured time during refreshment breaks for networking and discussion. 

Conference report

Download the conference report (PDF), a summary of the talks and activities from this meeting.

About the conference series

Supported by Rolls-Royce, this meeting formed 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.

 Event recording

Click watch on YouTube to view the full video playlist.

Organisers

  • Prof Helen Sneddon

    Professor Helen Sneddon

    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

    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 Ph.D. 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

09:15-09:25 Opening remarks
Professor Roger Sheldon, Delft University of Technology

Professor Roger Sheldon, Delft University of Technology

09:25-10:10 Keynote address: Towards sustainable sustainability research

There is a wealth of ongoing research into the challenges (sustainability-related and otherwise) currently facing society. However, it can be difficult to be sure that research is being undertaken as sustainably as possible, and there are potential pitfalls, such as making undesirable substitutions, replacing one problem with another.

In this talk, Helen will discuss the data that is available to guide decisions, some 'known unknowns', and how a healthy research culture might best consider sustainability, in all its many guises, without holding back vital research.

Professor Helen Sneddon

Professor Helen Sneddon

University of York, UK

Chair

Dr Deirdre Black

Dr Deirdre Black

Royal Society of Chemsitry

11:00-12:50 Break out room discussion sessions

Online attendees will have the option of participating in break out discussion sessions on Zoom with other attendees. These break out rooms will be facilitated by an individual with expertise in sustainability and research. Thoughts and comments generated from the discussions will be fed back to the wider audience by facilitators in a conclusion at the end of the session.

11:00-12:50 Table 2 - Reducing the environmental footprint of laboratory infrastructure and major equipment: energy, equipment-sharing, trade-offs between new equipment and repairs
11:00-12:50 Table 3 - Laboratory supplies and Scope 3 emissions: innovations and trade-offs in procurement, new materials and re-use
11:00-12:50 Table 4 - Water within laboratory settings: minimising usage and maximising quality
11:00-12:50 Table 5 - Enhancing the environmental sustainability of laboratories in resource-limited settings
11:00-12:50 Table 6 - Minimising and managing waste within and beyond the laboratory
11:00-12:50 Table 7 - Quantifying and minimising the environmental footprint of computational research
11:00-12:50 Table 8 - Cultural and behavioural change (including remote working and associated trade-offs)
11:00-12:50 Table 9 - Gases, solvents, chemical products and processes: usage, recycling, and novel formulations

Chair

Dr John Broderick

Dr John Broderick

Royal Society of Chemistry

13:50-14:05 Genuine life cycle thinking in the research process: where are we and what do we need?

This talk will consider the reality of attempts to minimise the environmental impacts of research, exemplified by the experiences of the University of Manchester, one of the largest universities in the UK. Laurence will discuss the progression from high-level ambitions and targets to measuring and attributing energy and water demand, sharing resources, pooling expertise, adopting shared programmes of action, and approaching behaviour change across a wide range of disciplines and cultures. The effects of a lack of useable data on these efforts, which likely dilute and misdirect the limited human and financial resources available, will also be explored.

The talk will also consider the impacts of information provided by life cycle assessments (LCA) and how LCA data might change priorities and actions. Laurence will discuss the benefits, including the introduction of a holistic perspective on environmental sustainability and better targeting of activities, and the remaining challenges, including appropriate data availability, granularity and logistical limitations.

Dr Laurence Stamford

Dr Laurence Stamford

University of Manchester, UK

14:05-14:20 Background data: a compass for the sustainability journey

Good decision making can only be done if supported by good quality data that are transparent and traceable. In the context of the sustainability journey, this data represents the environmental impacts (such as carbon footprint, water footprint or resource depletion) of activities and products in the value chain under study.

In this talk, Emilia will discuss how the ecoinvent background database supports this need for data. The background database provides generic data on all value chains, and this information can be used to estimate the impacts of the supplies or facilities used in lab research.

When data need to be acquired for a supplier, the background database will be an essential tool allowing users to prioritise the specific data that need to be collected (for example, determining what contributes more to specific impacts, such as carbon footprint or others). The background database will also fill the remaining gaps and provide information that is too distant in the value chain to be collected, or too complex to be modelled by individuals (such as electricity mixes or waste treatments).

The ecoinvent database covers more than 19,000 activities the global economy, enabling the existence of a large ecosystem of databases and benefiting hundreds of thousands of users that access it directly or via different software.

Dr Emilia Moreno Ruiz

Dr Emilia Moreno Ruiz

ecoinvent

14:20-14:35 Enabling labs and institutions to assess equipment to truly improve research sustainability

In this talk, Andy will use case studies from major UK universities to discuss how equipment choices can significantly impact the sustainability in different areas of research. He will explore the loopholes in current equipment testing methods and standards, as well as how these can affect daily activities within institutions.

He will also discuss factors that influence equipment energy consumption in the lab and how end users, procurement officers and estates management can harness these factors to decrease energy usage and reduce greenwashing.

Andy Evans

Andy Evans

Green Light Laboratories

14:35-15:05 Q&A and panel discussion
Andy Evans

Andy Evans

Green Light Laboratories

Dr Emilia Moreno Ruiz

Dr Emilia Moreno Ruiz

ecoinvent

Dr Laurence Stamford

Dr Laurence Stamford

University of Manchester, UK

15:05-15:50 The Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF): future directions

Nations, universities, companies, and the NHS have made net-zero commitments, but how will this affect scientific operations in the future? Laboratories are recognising their energy intensive nature, and considering their notable consumption of consumables. Many who work in the sciences are actively engaged to mitigate their impacts on the environment. More green lab efforts are growing around the world, as national networks and initiatives take off.

LEAF, developed at UCL, is one such initiative. A certification in sustainable science, it is now in use in over 90 institutions in 15 countries and growing. In this talk, LEAF's manager, Martin Farley, will discuss his career and what led to LEAF. He will conclude by looking forward at how science might adapt to sustainability targets in the future.

Martin Farley

Martin Farley

UCL

Chair

Lee Hibbett

Lee Hibbett

University of Nottingham, UK

16:20-17:20 Panel discussion
Hannah Johnson

Hannah Johnson

Prinses Maxima Centrum, the Netherlands

Richard Gammons

Richard Gammons

University of York, UK

Dr Loïc Lannelongue

Dr Loïc Lannelongue

University of Cambridge, UK

Dr Bethan Coulson

Dr Bethan Coulson

Johnson Matthey

Chair

Professor Roger Sheldon, Delft University of Technology

Chair

Professor Roger Sheldon, Delft University of Technology

09:45-10:35 Making science greener: Community perspectives and solutions

As the environmental sustainability of research has come into the spotlight more, members of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) wanted to get a picture of the current situation for scientists and their organisations: How much are people thinking about the environmental impacts of their research? What changes are they making? What is preventing them from taking action and what do they think would help them to do more?

To start to answer these questions, 700 practising scientists were surveyed and the results were published, combined with desk research and insights from expert working groups, in the 2022 RSC Sustainable Labs report. It was found that 84% of respondents want to do more to reduce the environmental impacts of their research but that there is lot of variation in the extent to which people are taking action reduce these impacts.

In this talk, Deirdre will also share what was heard about the concrete actions that people are taking, as well as their perspectives on barriers and opportunities at different scales.

Dr Deirdre Black

Dr Deirdre Black

Royal Society of Chemsitry

11:05-11:20 Report release: Academy of Medical Sciences' FORUM report on enabling greener clinical research

Biomedical research is a significant contributor to the UK's carbon footprint and a large consumer of plastics, but measuring and reducing its environmental impact is complex. Challenges include a need for strategic coordination, a lack of resource (eg in the workforce) to support efforts, and a need to define evidence-based metrics and 'green' standards for research. To discuss the challenges and potential solutions, the Academy of Medical Sciences' cross-sector programme, FORUM, ran a workshop in March in partnership with the NIHR and the MRC on 'enabling environmentally sustainable biomedical research'. The cross-sector workshop considered how to enable greener practices in both wet-lab and clinical research environments.

In this session, workshop co-chairs, Professor Frank Kelly FMedSci and Professor Paula Williamson FMedSci will reflect on the workshop and lead a panel discussion amongst cross-sector stakeholders to consider the difficulties particularly faced in enabling 'greener' clinical research practice, and clinical trials in particular. Panellists may consider the lessons to be learned from behavioural science and expand on topics raised in the workshop such as patient involvement, regulation, funding, and trial design.

The Academy of Medical Sciences is the independent, expert voice of biomedical and health research in the UK, with the mission to improve the health of people everywhere by creating an open and progressive research sector. The Academy of Medical Sciences' FORUM provides an independent platform for senior leaders from across academia, industry, government, and the charity, healthcare and regulatory sectors to come together with patients and take forward national discussions on scientific opportunities, technology trends and associated strategic choices for healthcare and other life sciences sectors.

Professor Frank Kelly FMedSci, King's College London, UK

Professor Frank Kelly FMedSci, King's College London, UK

11:20-11:55 Enabling greener clinical research: Panel discussion run by the Academy of Medical Sciences’ FORUM
Professor Paula Williamson FMedSci

Professor Paula Williamson FMedSci

University of Liverpool

Professor Susan Michie FMedSci

Professor Susan Michie FMedSci

University College London, UK

Jürgen Wieland

Jürgen Wieland

Novartis

Dr Sophia Lentzos

Dr Sophia Lentzos

NIHR

Jim Elliott

Jim Elliott

Health Research Authority

Chair

Martin Farley

Martin Farley

UCL

12:00-12:12 Quantifying and reducing Scope 3 lab emissions: Challenges and opportunities

In the Sustainability Office of the School of Life Sciences at EPFL, one of the key missions is to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of more than 50 research laboratories and core facilities in the faculty. Core to achieving this is the knowledge of the carbon footprint of a research lab and what can be leveraged to take action. To find out, EPFL has developed an online emissions calculation tool that maps emissions sources and simplifies data collection and analysis. Scope 3 emissions represent, by far, the greatest share of a lab's footprint and are therefore the focus of attention.

This talk will delve into the challenges faced in quantifying scope 3 emissions, how obstacles were worked around, and the many reduction opportunities that were identified. The lack of data often hindered the process, but decent estimations were still obtained. Depending on the type of scientific research conducted, footprints greatly differ from one lab to another. There is no one solution that fits all to reduce emissions. Meaningful impact can be reached but it requires effort, collaboration, and action at the individual, lab, and institutional level.

Juliane Miani

Juliane Miani

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland

12:12-12:24 Unpacking Scope 3 emissions: Using Life Cycle Assessment studies to estimate and reduce the carbon footprint of lab consumables

Scientific research pushes forward the boundaries of human knowledge, but often at a sizeable environmental cost. The reliance of researchers on single-use plastics and disposable consumables has come under increased scrutiny as decarbonisation and environmental sustainability have been prioritised. However, there has been very little exploration of the contribution of laboratory consumables to GHG emissions.

This presentation will discuss the first effort to quantify the carbon footprint of common, single-use lab consumables. Estimates of the life cycle emissions for protective wear, plastic products, and solvents were determined through a focused literature review of life cycle assessments (LCAs). Emission hotspots along each product’s life cycle were identified in order to understand how changes in purchasing behaviour, manufacture, and lab disposal would impact carbon emissions. The LCA-based emission factors were applied in a case study in order to demonstrate how they can be used by lab practitioners seeking to understand and mitigate their carbon footprint.

Isabella Ragazzi

Isabella Ragazzi

University College London

12:24-12:36 From second generation feedstocks to first class consumables: Eppendorf’s contribution to improving sustainability in the laboratories

Eppendorf is committed to sustainability and strives for transparency in this area. We take a data-driven approach in identifying, analysing, and improving the sustainability of our operations and products. By conducting a life cycle assessment (LCA) for 5 mL laboratory vessels according to ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards, Eppendorf can make an exemplary side-to-side comparison of a fossil-based versus bio-based laboratory vessel.

This talk will give insights regarding the chosen scope of the investigation, identified CO2 'hot spots' the role of the feedstock, and challenges ahead in further improving the sustainability of the products while maintaining the same quality and performance.

Dr Florian König

Dr Florian König

Eppendorf

12:36-12:55 Q&A and discussion
Juliane Miani

Juliane Miani

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland

Dr Florian König

Dr Florian König

Eppendorf

Isabella Ragazzi

Isabella Ragazzi

University College London

Chair

Prof Helen Sneddon

Professor Helen Sneddon

University of York, UK

14:05-14:25 Title TBD
Rachael Everard

Rachael Everard

Rolls Royce

14:25-14:45 Towards the sustainable manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients

In 2019 AstraZeneca announced Ambition Zero Carbon as one of its sustainability focus areas. Ambition Zero Carbon is AstraZeneca’s science-based climate strategy aimed at delivering decarbonisation across the value chain and was one of the first to be verified under the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) corporate standard. This strategy sets challenging emissions reductions targets along AstraZeneca’s path to becoming net zero by 2045.

The manufacture of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) is recognised as a significant contributor to AstraZeneca’s carbon footprint and meeting future emissions targets represents a significant challenge for Chemical Sciences in AstraZeneca.

This presentation will outline how API manufacture contributes to AstraZeneca’s carbon footprint, the role that chemistry has to play across the value chain, and examples of how AstraZeneca is currently addressing this challenge with today’s technologies. It will also highlight the limitations of current approaches and highlight areas for development of new technologies and approaches that will be needed to meet AstraZeneca’s goals.

Steve Swallow

Steve Swallow

AstraZeneca

14:45-15:05 The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult : our approach to sustainability

The evolution of medicinal therapies to next generation cell and gene therapies holds tremendous promise for patients, with some advanced medicinal products (ATMPs) being potentially curative. ATMPs represent a key shift in patient care, decreasing the burden on the healthcare system and thus by proxy the potential to contribute to reductions healthcare’s environmental impact. Secondly, in the not so distant future it is likely that sustainability will be seen as an essential dimension of quality. Sustainability is likely to become a core value similar to equity or accessibility, with mechanisms to monitor and hold the industry and healthcare system accountable for its environmental performance.

For the ATMP industry to deliver on this promise, efficient, high yield, closed processes with resultant lowered environmental impacts per product yield are required. CGT Catapult have already begun to accelerate technology development in this space. CGTC’s approach is two pronged, firstly by using CGTC as a test bed to tackle the common challenges facing our industry such as divesting from fossil fuels needed in facilities operations, process and technology innovations to reduce time-in-plant and single use plastics, and secondly by identifying emissions across value chains, establishing design and lifecycle analysis capabilities to support innovations in manufacturing of ATMPs, support for emissions reduction in process development and effective carbon accounting. Ultimately, CGT Catapult aims to enable a new model of approaching innovation for ATMPs where product and process improvements are considered hand-in-hand with environmental impact.

Dr Anan Hoest-Ragab

Dr Anan Hoest-Ragab

Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult

15:05-15:25 Sustainability at AWE: The Hub as an example for the future

Last year, the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) launched an updated ambitious Environmental Sustainability Strategy in response to increased focus on issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss and resource scarcity. It identified three themes where the business felt it could make a significant difference, namely the implementation of the circular economy, the reduction of carbon emissions and the enhancement of biodiversity. Each theme has goals for 2030 and 2040 which align to achieving individual 2050 visions, including the achievement of net zero carbon emissions across the value chain.

The strategy comes at a time when AWE is undergoing significant onsite investment and development to ensure it can deliver its future programme, radically changing the landscape and modernising its facilities and capabilities. In this talk, Olivia will discuss The Hub, AWE's future building for science and engineering. The Hub is due to come online within the next five years and the talk will explore the company's sustainability strategy and how it has been implemented in the planning, design and building stages of the project, as well as in the realisation when it becomes operational.

Dr Olivia Marsden

Dr Olivia Marsden

Atomic Weapons Establishment

15:25-15:45 Q&A and discussion session
Rachael Everard

Rachael Everard

Rolls Royce

Steve Swallow

Steve Swallow

AstraZeneca

Dr Anan Hoest-Ragab

Dr Anan Hoest-Ragab

Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult

Dr Olivia Marsden

Dr Olivia Marsden

Atomic Weapons Establishment

Chair

Professor Richard Flavell

Professor Richard Flavell CBE FRS

International Wheat Yield Partnership

16:15-17:15 Panel discussion with funders
Dr Andrew Clark

Dr Andrew Clark

Royal Academy of Engineering

Alison Robinson

Alison Robinson

National Environment Research Council

Alyson Fox

Alyson Fox

The Wellcome Trust

Dr Rachel Grimley

Dr Rachel Grimley

Cancer Research UK