Examples include projects that seek to optimise equipment maintenance using AI, research to develop a tool to assess sustainability when planning lab experiments, and alternative approaches to widely used lab techniques such as chromatography.
The recipients represent a wide range of career stages and job roles, with technicians, students, postdocs, senior academics, and industry researchers represented across the project teams.
Projects were selected following a rigorous review process, with final decisions taken by our Decision Panel, including members representing our seven Science Subject Community Councils. The panel commented on the quality and breadth of the applications and the high level of enthusiasm in the community around the topic.
“The variety of innovative projects and the geographical range covered in this year’s applications illustrates that sustainability remains a high priority for those working in laboratory settings and highlights how many ways there are to change the way we work,” said Professor Helen Sneddon, Director of the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York, member of the RSC's Organic Chemistry Community Council, and chair of the Sustainable Laboratories Grants Decision Panel.
“The work done as part of this grants programme will lead to the development and sharing of best practice that could benefit researchers all over the world. With the researchers we supported last year now reporting back, it’s extremely exciting to have a new set of projects picking up the baton and preparing to get under way.”
A third round of grant funding has been confirmed, with applications re-opening in September.
Learn more about the funded projects
2024 recipients
- Desmond Ang (University of Malaya, Malaysia)
- Project title: Upcycling of Rubber Glove Wastes from Chemical Laboratories into Rubber Tiles
- Project summary: This project seeks to reduce the volume of rubber glove waste from chemical laboratories by upcycling relatively clean and stain-free used gloves, which will be shredded and heat-compressed into multipurpose rubber tiles suitable for various applications.
- Gurdip Bhalay (Institute of Cancer Research, UK)
- Project title: Glove recycling hearts mind & carbon reduction
- Project summary: The project aims to reduce the environmental impact of nitrile glove usage in the chemical sciences by evaluating the legitimacy of various recycling schemes, exploring benefits beyond carbon reduction, and collaborating with Health and Safety representatives to enable glove recycling in laboratories.
- Alice Bowen (University of Manchester, UK)
- Project title: SOS: Sussing Out Sustainability in Teaching Laboratories
- Project summary: The project aims to create a Sustainability Risk Assessment framework for teaching laboratories, enabling students to evaluate and manage environmental impacts, and embedding sustainability training into existing curricula to upskill future chemistry researchers.
- Joseph Cameron (University of Glasgow, UK)
- Project title: Life Cycle Assessment of Chromatography to Promote Sustainability-Focused Purification Methods
- Project summary: The project aims to promote sustainability in flash-chromatography purification methods by conducting a life cycle assessment to analyse resource usage, waste generation, and recycling potential, recommending improvements to reduce the environmental footprint and encouraging greener practices in research and industry.
- Robert Crapnell (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)
- Project title: Laboratory Circular Economies: Tackling Research Single-Use Plastic
- Project summary: The project aims to tackle single-use plastic waste in research laboratories by developing a circular economy framework to recycle waste into useful products for on-site laboratories, reducing environmental pollution, with guidance for implementation in other departments.
- Alejandro Díaz-Moscoso (CSIC/Universidad de Sevilla, Spain)
- Project title: Development of a sustainable purification strategy as an alternative to chromatography
- Project summary: This project aims to develop a sustainable alternative to column chromatography through a sequential precipitation methodology, a straightforward protocol and computational tools to assess its efficacy, which could reduce environmental costs and promote more sustainable practices in chemical purification.
- Emmanuel Etim (Federal University Wukari Taraba State, Nigeria)
- Project title: Creating Sustainable Laboratory Recovery/Reuse Technology for Zero-waste in Research Practice
- Project summary: This project reduces or eliminates the generation of hazardous waste by employing natural materials (moringa olifera and eggshells) to treat and purify laboratory effluents, essentially replacing conventional high-energy and chemical-intensive treatment systems with a low-energy, environmentally friendly alternative.
- Ben L. Feringa (University of Groningen, Netherlands)
- Project title: Sustainable and circular gloves for laboratory research
- Project summary: This project aims to reduce plastic waste in laboratories by evaluating and implementing sustainable alternatives to conventional gloves at the University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen, and will involve piloting sustainable gloves in selected labs, conducting Life Cycle Assessments, and running safety tests.
- Ying Fu (University of Strathclyde, UK)
- Project title: Investigating 3Rs in screen-printed electrodes: Reproducibility, Regeneration and Reusability
- Project summary: The project aims to assess the sustainability of reusing screen-printed electrodes in chemical labs by evaluating reproducibility, optimising cleaning protocols, and establishing reuse guidelines to reduce costs and environmental impact without compromising research quality.
- Victoria Garcia (Quick Labs, UK)
- Project title: Shared Chemical Inventory for Waste Reduction and Sustainable research
- Project summary: The project aims to minimise chemical waste in laboratories by creating a shared database for small companies within an incubator to view and share each other's chemical inventories, reducing waste, energy consumption, and research expenses.
- Julian Griffin (University of Aberdeen, UK)
- Project title: Making HPLC-based metabolomics greener: the case of choosing ethanol instead of acetonitrile.
- Project summary: The project aims to explore the feasibility of replacing acetonitrile with ethanol in HPLC-based metabolomics using a high-throughput strategy to contribute to more sustainable laboratory protocols.
- Terungwa Iorkaha (Tomun Integrated Resources and Services Limited, Makurdi, Nigeria)
- Project title: Circular Economy Approaches in Laboratory Operations: From Waste Production to Resource Recovery
- Project summary: This project seeks to address the challenge of laboratory waste management in Nigeria by implementing circular economy approaches to transform waste production into resource recovery.
- Ronak Janani (Sheffield Hallam University, UK)
- Project title: Circular Labs: Creating Sustainable Lab Practices through Single-use Plastic Recycling and Material Integrity Analysis
- Project summary: The project aims to establish a local recycling system for LDPE packaging films, assessing material integrity over multiple recycling cycles and exploring in-house applications such as 3D-printing filaments or lab containers.
- Carl Jenkinson (Medical Research Council Laboratory Institute of Medical Science, UK)
- Project title: Application of a water purifier for sustainable LC-MS/MS mobile phase in small molecule analysis
- Project summary: The project aims to identify a sustainable solution for sourcing LC-MS grade water using a Type 1 ultrapure water purifier, to reduce environmental impacts and ensure accurate small molecule analysis.
- Craig McBeth (Teesside University, UK)
- Project title: Recycling of single-use polypropylene plastics to create 3D-printed containers capable of trapping metals and metallopolymers from metal and WEEE waste
- Project summary: The project aims to recycle single-use polypropylene plastics into 3D printer filament to create structures that can resist harsh acids/solvents used in the extraction of metals from waste electrical and electronic equipment.
- Jake McClements (Newcastle University, UK)
- Project title: Assessing Plant-Based 3D Printing Resins for Laboratory Use: Evaluating Print Quality and Biodegradability
- Project summary: The project aims to evaluate the viability of plant-based resins for 3D-printed laboratory components by assessing their print quality and biodegradability compared to petrochemical resins, ultimately promoting more sustainable 3D-printing practices.
- Liz Munday (University College London, UK)
- Project title: Using recycled solvents in research and teaching laboratories with pedagogy development, and a culture shift in solvent use
- Project summary: The project aims to promote sustainability by testing the implementation of recycled solvents in teaching and research labs, developing new practicals, and creating a website to share procedures, data, and educational resources.
- David Palomas-Dona (University College London, UK)
- Project title: RECOMPENSE: REcyclable Catalysts frOM PolystyrENe waStE. An Open Science platform for DIY protocols to upcycle Polystyrene waste from laboratories.
- Project summary: The project aims to develop accessible protocols to upcycle polystyrene waste into polystyrene sulfonic acid resins for use as catalysts in organic synthesis, promoting sustainability and reducing plastic pollution by sharing results through an Open Science platform.
- Michael Parkes (University College London, UK)
- Project title: From Benchwork to Benchmark: Transforming Lab Sustainability with Advanced Metrology
- Project summary: The project aims to reduce water and electricity consumption in chemical laboratories by developing guidelines for monitoring resource usage with microprocessor-based sensor systems, providing detailed instructions for implementing customisable monitoring solutions, and promoting sustainable practices through data-driven insights.
- Henry Robb (Imperial College London, UK)
- Project title: Sustainable Optimisation of Mass Spectrometry Analytical Workflow for Volatile Organic Compound Analysis
- Project summary: The project aims to sustainably optimise the Hanna Group's breath testing pipeline for volatile organic compound analysis by introducing recycling initiatives, improving thermal desorption tube longevity, and maximising gas chromatography-mass spectrometry energy efficiency.
- Gemma Shearman (Kingston University London, UK)
- Project title: Building sustainable practices in the laboratory: the development of a training tool for students to assess the sustainability of chemical research laboratory experiments
- Project summary: The project aims to promote sustainable practices in chemical research by developing a user-friendly training tool for students to assess the environmental sustainability of lab experiments, enhancing both teaching and research through collaboration with academic and industrial partners.
- Rodolfo Inez Teixeira (Loughborough University, UK)
- Project title: Minimizing Waste Generation in Flash Chromatography Purification through AI and effective Recycling Strategies
- Project summary: The project aims to enhance the sustainability of flash chromatography purification by reducing waste and promoting the reuse of consumables through recycling strategies and AI-based systems for green solvent selection, with open-access outcomes.
- Catarina Veríssimo Esteves (NOVA School of Science and Technology, Portugal)
- Project title: Reducing Environmental Impact of Research Laboratories
- Project summary: This project focuses on reducing water, energy, hazardous chemicals, and single-use plastics. Water reduction will involve replacing outdated procedures with the help of students to search for new solutions. Energy reduction will also be procured brainstorming with faculty services. Meanwhile, chemical alternatives to replace hazardous substances will be explored.
- Mingzhe Yu (Johnson Matthey, UK)
- Project title: Eco-system of Lab Equipment and Predictive Maintenance Management (ELEP2M)
- Project summary: The project aims to develop an open-source system that utilises machine learning to optimise lab equipment maintenance schedules, reduce energy consumption, and enhance sustainability in research facilities globally.
- Ye Zhou (Shenzhen University, China)
- Project title: Reducing the Use of Pipette Tips in Spin-Coating Processes in Chemical Sciences Laboratories
- Project summary: This project will involve assessing current usage patterns of disposable pipette tip usage in spin-coating processes, quantifying the environmental impact, and designing alternative dispensing methods, such as reusable glass syringes.
Why did we set up the Sustainable Laboratories Grants?
This programme was established following the publication of our Sustainable laboratories report in October 2022. The sustainability of research is increasingly important and multi-faceted topic, covering everything from the equipment and chemicals used to the way the research is carried out and the labs themselves. As well as being a key consideration for a growing number of researchers, it is also on the agenda for many universities, funders, and industries.
Our Sustainable Laboratories Grant programme is one way in which we are supporting members to find ways to reduce the environmental footprint of laboratory work. We were inspired to provide funding that leads to shared best practice and enables others to make their research activities - and the chemical sciences as a whole - more sustainable.
We awarded the first round of grants worth more than £300,000 last year, details of which can found above. Some of last year’s project leads have already shared their knowledge at conferences and webinars, with more expected to follow suit in the near future. You can read about some of those involved in the first year of the programme in these profiles or listen to their experiences in the YouTube video below.
