Greenlab Zürich

Using the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry to Safeguard People & the Planet

Every lab can be a greener lab. 🌱
We’ve reimagined the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry as a modern poster you can hang where sustainable ideas take shape — classrooms, offices, labs, and wherever else you’d like to hang it. [1/6]

Happy #SustainabilityTipTuesday from us to you! Single-use plastics make up a large proportion of #waste coming from labs.
Check out our Greenlabs wiki for ideas on how to reduce plastic waste in the lab with simple tips and tricks!
unlimited.ethz.ch/spaces/green...
#greenlabs

Green Beyond Benign graphic with a trash can icon and the text “1 Waste Prevention,” with “12 Principles of Green Chemistry” and the Beyond Benign logo at the bottom.

♻️🌍 Waste Prevention is the first of the #12PrinciplesOfGreenChemistry, a framework for designing chemistry that protects human health & the environment. This principle reminds us that it is better to prevent waste than to treat & clean up waste after it is formed. buff.ly/zigxO6w

Exciting collaboration! D-ITET's Automatic Control Lab and Google are pioneering carbon-aware computing by shifting workloads between data centre locations. Sophie Hall and project lead Ana Radovanovic are proving that academic theory can drive real-world sustainability.

ee.ethz.ch/news-and-eve...

EMBL-EBI Training. Sustainable computing in science: an introduction to the environmental impacts of computational research. This course has been developed in collaboration with the Cambridge Sustainable Computing Lab at the University of Cambridge. It was supported by funding from the Wellcome Trust Foundation and the University of Cambridge.

Have you ever paused and wondered about the many different ways in which computing infrastructure and activities impact the environment?

@loiclnlg.bsky.social and our own Flaminia Zane have created a free guide dedicated to sustainable computing in science: www.ebi.ac.uk/training/onl...

🧬🖥️📊🌱

Bioplastics for the lab are finally here!

But there’s a big problem — few people actually know what bioplastics are.

Here’s what you need to know 🧵👇

Sustainability tip for yeast labs:
when replica plating you can combine two different dissection plates into one replica plate. This will reduce the number of plates you use by almost ½.
Here’s how:
🧵/1

How to correctly evaluate greenness, whiteness and other “colours”? Introducing general rules of a good evaluation practice In analytical chemistry, the use of dedicated metrics for assessing greenness, whiteness and other “colours” of new methods is becoming very popular. However, does this entail an increase in the overa...

Very interesting article outlining good evaluation practice for sustainability assessments of analytical methods.

Many tools are available in this rapidly expanding field. Hopefully these assessments can be come embedded in all lab settings.
#greensky #greenchem.

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

This post might change how you do your PCRs

Potentially saving you 46% time, 50% money, and 38% plastic waste

In short: DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2024.01.013

In more detail in the thread below:

How a simple form can make labs safer and more sustainable

A concept known as Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) has recently begun spreading through the chemical sciences. This approach has roots firmly planted in green chemistry. cen.acs.org/environment/...

#chemsky 🧪

a cartoon monkey is pressing a red button that says shut it down ALT: a cartoon monkey is pressing a red button that says shut it down

If your lab is winding down for the holidays, remember to
💡 switch off incubators, shakers, and other equipment - they need their rest too!

Did you know that 85 million tons of paper are wasted each year globally? This equates to over 1 million trees being lost to paper waste. In this sustainability tip, we have compiled a few examples of changes that can be made in the office to encourage a more #sustainable space!

#SCNOW #Recycle

How to Save Water in the Lab: 10 Practical Sustainability Tips for Scientists | My Green Lab - Education Discover 10 practical ways labs can cut water waste, reduce costs, and boost sustainability without compromising science.

💡How to Save Water in the Lab ?
➡️ 10 Practical Sustainability Tips for Scientists #MyGreenLab

mygreenlab.org/the-beaker-b...

Die erste deutschlandweite Benchmark-Studie zur Abfallentstehung in Krankenhäusern liefert wichtige Erkenntnisse für mehr Nachhaltigkeit im Gesundheitswesen. - Copyright Hochschule Pforzheim

Über 8 Kilogramm Abfall pro Patient*in im Krankenhaus
Erste Benchmark-Studie zum Krankenhausabfall legt Grundlagen für Kreislaufwirtschaft...
weiterlesen

If any of you are interested in making digital practice in FE & Skills more sustainable, then please join our FREE online Digital Sustainability Community - open to anyone working in the Further Education.

Next meetup: Tues 11 Nov, 2pm.
Share ideas, challenges & resources.

Please share x

The result?

✅ 45+ concrete opportunities for greener practices

What made this work?
Enthusiasm + positivity.

Here is my full list of sustainable actions: re-advance.com/a-list-of-su...

Making your lab more sustainable – top tips for LEAF accreditation Need inspiration on how to start working towards your lab ‘LEAF’ accreditation? We spoke to DPhil students Sylvia Franklin and Molly John from the MacLaren and Xue Labs respectively, who led a recent…

#LEAF is a sustainability standard designed to help research groups reduce environmental impact.🌱

As an efficient lab = a sustainable lab, here are 3 top tips to save resources and avoid waste from Molly and Sylvia in our MacLaren and Xue labs...🧵

#EarthDay

If you care about sustainability, these numbers you need to know - let's make it super quick:

These numbers are hard to come by but:

Centrifuge: 4.2 kWh
Incubator: 0.04–0.9
PCR Cycler: 0.2–2
Thermomixer: 0.11
E-pipette: 0.01–0.05

#GreenLab #STEM #Sustainability

Promotional image for the Royal Society of Chemistry's Sustainable Laboratories Grant 2025. Illustrated scene of diverse scientists working in a lab, with textual details encouraging innovative thinking in science. 'Find out more' invitation included.

Do you have an idea that could make research more environmentally sustainable?

Get up to £10,000 to develop your project and help increase sustainable lab practices. Find out more ➡️ rsc.li/sustainable-labs-grant #ChemSky

Promotional image for the Royal Society of Chemistry's Sustainable Laboratories Grant 2025 featuring diverse scientists working in a vibrant laboratory setting. Quote from Christina Picken, University of Manchester, praising the grant process.

The Sustainable Laboratories Grant 2025 is open!

Apply for up to £10,000 to support projects that improve sustainability in lab practice – we’re accepting applications till 6 October 2025.

Apply today: rsc.li/sustainable-labs-grant

Doing the basics well (not just shiny tech/gadgets) is a huge part of reducing emissions & we need to recognise + embrace that.

We have just tested a simple change to the hot water system in a big university building & it reduces energy use by ~20%. Users won't notice.

Yay for the simple stuff!

Happy #SustainabilityTipTuesday! This week, we want to encourage any of you who help to organise meetings, workshops and conferences to consider offering a virtual option to reduce travel-related emissions ✈️

Greenlab Zürich | LinkedIn Greenlab Zürich | 15 followers on LinkedIn. Making scientific research more sustainable | We are a group of scientists on different levels based on Zürich, aimed at raising awareness and reducing the ...

Happy #SustainabilityTipTuesday - today, we want to shamelessly promo our new LinkedIn page, which you can find and follow here: www.linkedin.com/company/gree...

From Our Community: How Student Leadership Helped Bring the Green Chemistry Commitment to Queen’s University The Queen’s University International Student Chapter of the American Chemical Society is advancing green chemistry through the Green Chemistry Commitment and other initiatives.

Students are leading the charge for #GreenChemistry education at @queensuglobal.bsky.social. 👏🌱 Q-ACS helped bring the Green Chemistry Commitment to the Department of Chemistry and launched programs like “Which Is Greener?” to advance sustainable science on campus. Read more. buff.ly/xfvJDAt

FEBS Press As interest in sustainability grows, many researchers raise questions about changing scientific practices. To enable effective change, we reconceptualize sustainability as an approach that optimizes ...

This #SustainabilityTipTuesday, we want to share this great read about improving efficiency in the lab to further sustainability efforts! Take a look 👇 febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

We are excited to share this review by Gabriela T. Quadros and coworkers on Bio-Based Green Solvents in Organic Synthesis!

🔗 www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejo...

#SCNOW #SDGs #SustainableSolvents #BioBased #Synthesis

Happy #SustainabilityTipTuesday! Today, we encourage you take action on reducing water use in the lab, with the help of this great resource 👇💧

It's always a good time to think about your chemistry protocols - could you replace harmful chemicals like TFA with something more benign? #SustainabilityTipTuesday

If you're taking some time out of the lab 🏖️, make sure to switch off🔌your computer (+screens!) and any other equipment you won't be using to save energy ⚡💡 #SustainabilityTipTuesday

Happy #SustainabilityTipTuesday! Today, we encourage you to collect and reuse plastic bags that come with consumables, kits and other lab materials. These can have a second life as bin liners, or for storing/shipping materials. #greenlabs