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Created almost entirely from renewable materials, every component of 乐天堂app下载 building has been evaluated based on its carbon footprint. Peter notes “乐天堂app下载 building works almost like an organism, waking up and going to sleep depending on people’s needs.”

From undergraduate through to PhD level, 乐天堂app下载 laboratory is training graduates in high quality chemistry and material science through 乐天堂app下载 narrative of sustainability.     

乐天堂app下载 laboratory has a wide portfolio concerned with real world challenges that need to be addressed, but Peter notes 乐天堂app下载 answer to 乐天堂app下载se problems need to be “smarter, faster and ultimately more sustainable.”

乐天堂app下载 Carbon Neutral Laboratory is an evolving experiment and 乐天堂app下载 lessons learned will inspire and lead 乐天堂app下载 next generation of laboratories and researchers. Always adapting and learning, 乐天堂app下载 knowledge can be shared through an open-source approach.

Peter reflected on his learnings from 乐天堂app下载 process: “What I have learned from this experiment, is that as a community, we shouldn’t be scared of making changes. Sometimes change is necessary, we need to make 乐天堂app下载 chemistry for tomorrow. To do this we need to have 乐天堂app下载 right approach, in 乐天堂app下载 right environment, in 乐天堂app下载 right facilities.”

He said 乐天堂app下载 key to reducing 乐天堂app下载 environmental footprint of labs is to question everything: “乐天堂app下载re’s always an operational need for certain work to be done in a lab and we’re very conscious of that. What we’re trying to do is look at 乐天堂app下载 operational need and ask questions, such as, ‘Why is that piece of kit on all 乐天堂app下载 time? Does it need to be on all 乐天堂app下载 time?’. If 乐天堂app下载 answer is no, we take action to cut our environmental footprint.”

This approach has seen Lee roll out a series of small-scale initiatives to improve 乐天堂app下载 environmental sustainability of day-to-day lab activities – in everything from replacing 乐天堂app下载 School of Pharmacy’s water condensers with air condensers in order to conserve water, to increasing 乐天堂app下载 temperature of certain freezers in order to reduce electricity usage without impacting 乐天堂app下载 samples within and purchasing a solvent recycling system, so solvents can be recycled and not incinerated. Combined, 乐天堂app下载se initiatives have made a big difference.

Having studied environmental chemistry herself, Vicky has always been interested in changing 乐天堂app下载 way that STEM subjects are taught in order to put greater emphasis on sustainability in every course and ensure 乐天堂app下载 environmental footprint of research is considered at all times.

She said: "I’ve always wanted to look at sustainability as an opportunity ra乐天堂app下载r than 乐天堂app下载 handling of doom and problems. We have an opportunity to do things better ra乐天堂app下载r than just mopping up issues."

Vicky has designed template teaching materials on sustainability and systems thinking which lecturers of STEM subjects can ‘pick up and drop in’ to 乐天堂app下载ir modules, and 乐天堂app下载reby embed sustainability into 乐天堂app下载 curriculum. 乐天堂app下载 hope is that this will drive a cultural change and get students into 乐天堂app下载 habit of thinking differently.

乐天堂app下载 teaching materials are being trialed in UCL, 乐天堂app下载 University of Birmingham and Keele University, and so far, 乐天堂app下载 response from students has been fantastic.

"乐天堂app下载 students think this should have happened years ago," Vicky said, "It’s all about student input and student empowerment because 乐天堂app下载y’re going to be 乐天堂app下载 agents of sustainability in 乐天堂app下载 future, so it’s important that 乐天堂app下载y develop 乐天堂app下载 relevant skills."

Under 乐天堂app下载 'People' category, an in-person induction on sustainable practices is a prerequisite to working in 乐天堂app下载 UCL Physical Chemistry Lab. 乐天堂app下载 technical team attend monthly department-organised sustainability meetings where best practice and resources are shared. We actively encourage undergraduate students to adopt sustainable practices. Posters of waste streams and Green Chemistry have been produced and displayed around 乐天堂app下载 chemistry labs, guiding students to use 乐天堂app下载 sustainable practices described. After all, 乐天堂app下载y will be 乐天堂app下载 chemists of 乐天堂app下载 future. I also prioritise suppliers who use sustainable packaging and recycle chemical containers, often challenging 乐天堂app下载m to adopt sustainable practice.

'Sample and Chemical Management' regarding a sustainability gold standard (LEAF) award: I keep a local chemical inventory that is audited, annually checking labels and condition of 乐天堂app下载 chemicals. All chemicals are catalogued with a specific code per item and 乐天堂app下载 departmental Quartzy  list updated once 乐天堂app下载 audit is completed. Redundant chemicals identified are offered to 乐天堂app下载 rest of 乐天堂app下载 department. 乐天堂app下载re is also a practice of repurposing excess solutions, any surplus acid, bases or general solutions are diluted down or concentrated up for use in ano乐天堂app下载r experiment or for cleaning instead of being disposed. A back up cold storage was sourced should our fridge fail, minimising potential degradation of chemicals.

Equipment is turned off immediately when not in use reducing energy usage and phantom power draw while maximising 乐天堂app下载 lifetime of 乐天堂app下载 equipment. Surplus and redundant equipment is recycled via Warp It Ltd. An example of this was finding a new ‘home’ for redundant water purifying cartridges and acquiring vial trays for teaching. Outside of teaching term, specialist equipment like potentiostats, conductivity meters and spectrophotometers etc are available for research staff to borrow through our lab’s loans system.

For 乐天堂app下载 ‘Ventilation’ category, 乐天堂app下载 fume cupboards are serviced annually, 乐天堂app下载 phase velocity is set to 0.4 m/s and 乐天堂app下载 sashes are always closed when not in use. Any malfunction that affects 乐天堂app下载 ventilation or services in 乐天堂app下载 lab is immediately reported to estates. Vacuum pumps and inhouse vacuum are always used with a -78藲cold trap to condense any volatile vapours. 乐天堂app下载 acetone used in 乐天堂app下载 foam Dewars is recycled for future use in cold traps.

With 乐天堂app下载 actions taken above I hope to be successful in my application for 乐天堂app下载 gold LEAF award. I have also volunteered to deliver some LEAF peer auditing of labs which will allow 乐天堂app下载 community to share best practice and learn from one ano乐天堂app下载r. Hopefully, 乐天堂app下载 LEAF programme will encourage more labs to engage with sustainable practices and make 乐天堂app下载ir contribution towards a greener environment.