From superfreezers and exhaust air systems through to protective clothing, laboratories consume many times more energy than an office block, not to mention generating considerable amounts of waste. Yet they are also key incubators of innovation and progress. “Our job is to guarantee excellence in research while also taking responsibility for our environment and resources,” explains Professor Annette Scheersoi, Vice Rector for Sustainability. “With LEAF, we’re creating a structured framework for enabling sustainability in the day-to-day life of a lab to be measured and making it an integral part of what goes on there. I’m especially delighted that the impetus for going down this particular road came from the staff themselves.”
Geared toward reducing environmental pollution and running costs
Developed by University College London and now used by 85 research institutions worldwide, the LEAF program combines practical measures with scientifically sound standards and a three-level certification system (Bronze, Silver, Gold). It instructs laboratories in the art of saving energy, water, chemicals and plastics, putting sustainable procurement processes in place, and using carbon and cost calculators to record their progress in order to curb both their negative impact on the environment and their operating costs.
“More efficient processes, lower costs and the mindful use of resources will improve the quality of our research and make our University fit for the future,” Scheersoi adds. The start-up financing for the program came from the sustainability funding pots at the University and University Hospital.
The following pilot laboratories took part in the LEAF program, passed its assessment and received a Bronze certificate:
- Bonn Institute for Organismic Biology (BIOB), Genetics of Phenotype Evolution, Gompel Group
- Institute of Experimental Epileptology and Cognition Research (IEECR, University Hospital Bonn), Beck Group
- Institute of Innate Immunity (University Hospital Bonn), Wachten Group
- BioBank (University Hospital Bonn)
- Next Generation Sequencing Core Facility (NGS Core Facility, University Hospital Bonn)
LEAF program to be rolled out University-wide
Now that the pilot phase has been completed successfully, the program is to be rolled out across the University, with more than 10 new laboratories getting involved in 2026 and submitting themselves for certification. With certificates valid for a year, the pilot laboratories will also be going through the process again at either the same or a higher level. The rollout will be accompanied by training sessions, sets of guidelines and a range of dialogue formats. All laboratories at the University of Bonn or University Hospital Bonn that are interested are also invited to join the community of practice and put themselves forward for certification too. The University and University Hospital are thus underlining their commitment to integrating sustainability into learning, teaching and operations as a cross-cutting issue and making a quantifiable contribution to efforts to meet the global sustainable development goals.
You can find out more about the LEAF program at the University of Bonn at https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/university/about-the-university/sustainable-university/nachhaltigkeit-im-labor?set_language=en.
