For the third year running and for the first time since our move to Oxford we have achieved a LEAF Gold Award! LEAF stands for Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework and was started at UCL to improve the sustainability and efficiency of laboratories. It has since been adopted by many institutions, including Oxford. With the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice being signed by institutions and funding agencies, LEAF accreditation is one way to evidence laboratory sustainability.

We continue to make progress on our LEAF journey and in the past year have focused on transferring and adjusting our ways of working as we have transitioned from UCL to Oxford. We have implemented further water and energy saving measures and have revisited our sample and chemical inventories.

If you want to know more about the LEAF process, check out the UCL-based website and do get in touch with Anna, if you have any questions or want to know more.