The LEAF Awards recognise achievements towards the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF):  a lab certification programme adopted by Queen's University Belfast (QUB) in September 2021 aimed at helping sustainable practices in labs across campus.

Floor managers from the Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research (PGJCCR) worked to enable all researchers to think and act sustainably, from ensuring lights were switched off to investigating new ways to recycle and reducing emissions from equipment through clever temperature adjustments.

“While there are many criteria that researchers are aware of, there is also lots of other work that LEAF champions do in the background to meet these criteria,” explained Pamela Maxwell whose PGJCCR 2^nd Floor labs achieved silver status. “For example, we consider energy consumption when we are buying new equipment for the centre, and Floor Managers are always investigating ways to increase recycling and reuse, to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill.”

The PGJCCR technicians also looked at ways in which they could make more detailed, technical adjustments.

“Where feasible, freezers (particularly ultra-low temperature units) and fridges have temperatures raised and drying cabinets/ovens have had temperatures lowered,” explained Silver accredited 3^rd Floor Manager Kirsty McLaughlin. “By using the LEAF calculators, we were able to quantify that changing the temperature of two ultra freezers on the 3^rd floor from -80 oC to -70oC will save 0.71 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.”

Cecilia McCluskey from the Silver LEAF accredited Genomics Core Technology Unit (GCTU), based at PGJCCR, was named LEAF Champion of the Year 2023/24. She explained how the accomplishment was “the result of a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing our operational efficiency while minimising our environmental footprint.”

“We began by introducing energy efficiency measures,” said McCluskey. “With money awarded from the Green Revolving Fund we replaced one of our existing water baths with a newer, energy efficient bead-based bath.  We implemented protocols to ensure that equipment was only used when necessary, turning off machines when not in use and consolidating experiments to minimise redundant use of energy.”

While LEAF was created by University College London (UCL) its importance is now being recognised on a wider scale with some funding bodies now requesting LEAF accreditation or similar for new grant applications. It also now forms a vital part of QUB’s Net Zero plan which aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2040.

While these are important steps in the right direction there is still some way to go. “I would like to see research funders offer new criteria for equipment repair, not just brand new equipment,” says Maria Rea, who steered 2^nd floor labs in PGJCRR’s Health Sciences Building to gaining a Silver award. “A lot of the grants we currently have do not permit a spend on equipment repair. I would like to see a lot more equipment sharing across the university which might encourage more collaborations.”

The importance of engagement from the wider industry was also echoed by Laura Nesbitt from Almac Discovery, who also gained Silver LEAF accreditation: “It would be great to see more industry partners of QUB getting involved in the LEAF program. The coffee mornings and information days have led to us becoming a community that can share information on new sustainability initiatives while getting advice on new ideas to see how plausible they would be to put in place in labs. Having more industry partners involved would allow for even more knowledge to be shared, helping everyone achieve their sustainability goals.”

One of the key factors towards PGJCCR’s LEAF achievements is good communication, explained Kirsty McLaughlin. “The 3rd Floor labs communicated with other groups/labs/departments about sustainable practices, and took part in a sustainability audit. This was an easy criterion to complete.”

David McGibbon who oversaw PGJCCR’s Ground Floor labs Bronze award reinforced the point that the achievement needed the “enthusiastic support of all the Ground Floor Lab staff and students.”

It was important to the Floor Managers to ensure that PGJCCR’s efforts at sustainability do not just stop at day-to-day lab procedures.

 “It is also important to make people aware of sustainability,” explained Pamela Maxwell. “As a centre, we promoted sustainability during our Science Festival Open Day in February 2024; visitors were invited to look out for our sustainability measures during their lab tours and we ran a very popular a seed planting activity to promote sustainability (growing your own vegetables) and healthy eating. We also moved away from giving visitors lots of non-recyclable items in their gift bags, instead opting for bookmarks printed on seeded paper.”

LEAF Awards were received by PGJCCR’s Kirsty McLaughlin, Maria Rea, Pamela Maxwell, David McGibbon and Gordon McGregor; GCTU’s Imogen Page; Almac Discovery’s Laura Nesbitt as well as Precision Medicine Centre’s Cathal McNally & Leanne McIlreavey who are based in PGJCCR’s Health Science Building. Cecilia McCluskey was named LEAF Champion of the Year 2023/2024.