Chemistry is helping itself to become more sustainable
Advances in chemical sciences play an important role in improving our lives
But scientific laboratories and operations have an impact on the environment. The chemical sciences community is aware of this and is increasingly looking to make its practices more sustainable.
Carbon neutral laboratories
UCL has developed an initiative called LEAF which helps institutions in over 15 countries achieve a certification in sustainable science; the GSK Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry in Nottingham has been designed to be carbon neutral; and Loïc Lannelongue from Cambridge University is running the Green Algorithms project, an initiative promoting more environmentally sustainable computational science.
Supporting sustainable research
The Royal Society of Chemistry is here to support. Our Sustainable Laboratories report highlights many examples from across the community, and throughout the world, of researchers embedding environmentally sustainable practices in their lab work. Meanwhile our action plan calls for greater coordination, support and recognition for sustainability in the lab, and we are launching small grants to help accelerate our community’s journey to sustainable research.
