How can laboratories reduce their carbon footprint?
Health care ultimately generates around 7% of national carbon emissions in Australia. Whilst only a small proportion of this can be attributed to pathology, the typical laboratory uses far more energy and waste per unit area than the typical office building.[1] We spoke to Dr Tony Badrick, CEO of RCPAQAP, who believes that community concern about environmental issues, including reducing waste, recycling, conserving water, eliminating unnecessary chemical disposal and decreasing pollution, is influencing attitudes of staff members towards their employer activities.[2]
“Laboratories impact the environment in several ways, therefore have a responsibility to reduce the environmental consequences of their activities. The typical laboratory uses three to six times more energy per unit surface area than the typical office building, which is largely due to the use of specialised equipment and ventilation systems. Besides energy, laboratories are also significant consumers of water and producers of waste.”
“A large proportion of the carbon footprint in health care can be attributed to plastic waste. Whilst we create a lot of waste that needs to be treated specially, and some items can only be used once, this is not always the case and we are not always very good at putting the right waste in the right bin. Individually, many staff members may be aware of the waste generated in their daily work activities but may feel powerless to reduce it. There is therefore a need to sensitise laboratories to the importance of adopting good environmental practices,” said Dr Badrick.
Although there will be initial costs, good environmental practices can bring savings. Environmental improvement should be based on the 3R concept to reduce, reuse and recycle. Several policy initiatives could be introduced, including a green purchasing policy for equipment, laboratory furniture and reagents as well as the management of packaging wastes. There are several ways to reduce energy, water usage and wastage, including recycling of solvents and general wastes where feasible.[3]
“It is difficult for laboratories, especially if they are part of a hospital, as they are a relatively small component and may not have a lot of control over things such as the power usage, however it is still possible for them to do their bit. In fact, many good environmental practices do not have a cost, rather they will require a change in the culture and mind-set of organisations. I believe that in the long run, introducing environmentally friendly processes can actually save money.”
“One of the things we did here at the RCPAQAP was to change the lights over to LEDs and also introduce sensors to turn the lights on and off, rather than having them on round the clock. We also introduced dedicated recycling for items such as batteries, printer cartridges and plastics which we also allow employees to bring in from home.
“I think laboratories could set an example for other parts of the health care system. If we were all to adopt certain environmental standards, then it would serve as a signal to other parts of the health care system and would really reduce our footprint. I also think it is important for an organisation to demonstrate that it is acting as a responsible ‘green’ corporate citizen, not just to the rest of the community but particularly to their own workforce, to show them that not only are they considering their own carbon footprint, but they are also supporting what staff might already be doing at home,” said Dr Badrick.
