Our group lab was awarded LEAF Gold this year!

LEAF is short for Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework and is a standard set by UCL to improve the sustainability and efficiency of laboratories. By engaging with the framework, users are made aware of and can put into practice sustainability actions to save plastics, water, energy, and other resources in their laboratory.

Our LEAF journey started through inspiration provided by a departmental talk and Curran taking initial steps to get our lab registered. Together, we then worked through the framework and improved on several fronts. This included replacing our water-based condensers and vacuum apparatus, swapping from single-use plastic pipettes to reusable glass ones (which we acquired from pharmacy teaching lab surplus), and introducing a new standardised sample labelling system which improves reusability and traceability of the humongous number of samples we handle and produce.

LEAF is not only for UCL-based labs, but for anyone who wants to engage with the process. Check out the website and do get in touch with Anna, if you have any questions or want to know more.