The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has launched a Sustainable Laboratories Grant Programme, providing over £200,000 in funding to support researchers worldwide in reducing the environmental impact of laboratory-based science.
The programme, which aims to reduce the environmental footprint of laboratory work, has awarded grants to 25 initiatives across seven countries. The recipients represent a wide range of career stages and job roles, including technicians, students, postdocs, senior academics, and industry researchers.
The grants were awarded following a rigorous review process, with final decisions taken by our Decision Panel, including members representing our seven Science Subject Community Councils.
Why Sustainability Matters in Laboratories
Sustainability is a growing concern in the chemical sciences, with many researchers, universities, funders, and industries recognizing its importance.
The RSC Sustainable Laboratories Grant Programme was established in response to the publication of our Sustainable laboratories report in October 2022.
The programme provides funding that leads to shared best practice and enables others to make their research activities and the chemical sciences as a whole more sustainable.
Funded Projects and Recipients
- Desmond Ang (University of Malaya, Malaysia): Upcycling of Rubber Glove Wastes from Chemical Laboratories into Rubber Tiles
- Gurdip Bhalay (Institute of Cancer Research, UK): Glove recycling hearts mind & carbon reduction
- Alice Bowen (University of Manchester, UK): SOS: Sussing Out Sustainability in Teaching Laboratories
- Joseph Cameron (University of Glasgow, UK): Life Cycle Assessment of Chromatography to Promote Sustainability-Focused Purification Methods
- Robert Crapnell (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK): Laboratory Circular Economies: Tackling Research Single-Use Plastic
- Alejandro Díaz-Moscoso (CSIC/Universidad de Sevilla, Spain): Development of a sustainable purification strategy as an alternative to chromatography
- Emmanuel Etim (Federal University Wukari Taraba State, Nigeria): Creating Sustainable Laboratory Recovery/Reuse Technology for Zero-waste in Research Practice
- Ben L. Feringa (University of Groningen, Netherlands): Sustainable and circular gloves for laboratory research
- Ying Fu (University of Strathclyde, UK): Investigating 3Rs in screen-printed electrodes: Reproducibility, Regeneration and Reusability
- Victoria Garcia (Quick Labs, UK): Shared Chemical Inventory for Waste Reduction and Sustainable research
- Julian Griffin (University of Aberdeen, UK): Making HPLC-based metabolomics greener: the case of choosing ethanol instead of acetonitrile.
- Terungwa Iorkaha (Tomun Integrated Resources and Services Limited, Makurdi, Nigeria): Circular Economy Approaches in Laboratory Operations: From Waste Production to Resource Recovery
- Ronak Janani (Sheffield Hallam University, UK): Circular Labs: Creating Sustainable Lab Practices through Single-use Plastic Recycling and Material Integrity Analysis
- Carl Jenkinson (Medical Research Council Laboratory Institute of Medical Science, UK): Application of a water purifier for sustainable LC-MS/MS mobile phase in small molecule analysis
- Craig McBeth (Teesside University, UK): Recycling of single-use polypropylene plastics to create 3D-printed containers capable of trapping metals and metallopolymers from metal and WEEE waste
- Jake McClements (Newcastle University, UK): Assessing Plant-Based 3D Printing Resins for Laboratory Use: Evaluating Print Quality and Biodegradability
- Liz Munday (University College London, UK): Using recycled solvents in research and teaching laboratories with pedagogy development, and a culture shift in solvent use
- David Palomas-Dona (University College London, UK): RECOMPENSE: REcyclable Catalysts frOM PolystyrENe waStE. An Open Science platform for DIY protocols to upcycle Polystyrene waste from laboratories
- Michael Parkes (University College London, UK): From Benchwork to Benchmark: Transforming Lab Sustainability with Advanced Metrology
- Henry Robb (Imperial College London, UK): Sustainable Optimisation of Mass Spectrometry Analytical Workflow for Volatile Organic Compound Analysis
- Gemma Shearman (Kingston University London, UK): Building sustainable practices in the laboratory: the development of a training tool for students to assess the sustainability of chemical research laboratory experiments
- Rodolfo Inez Teixeira (Loughborough University, UK): Minimizing Waste Generation in Flash Chromatography Purification through AI and effective Recycling Strategies
- Catarina Veríssimo Esteves (NOVA School of Science and Technology, Portugal): Reducing Environmental Impact of Research Laboratories
- Mingzhe Yu (Johnson Matthey, UK): Eco-system of Lab Equipment and Predictive Maintenance Management (ELEP2M)
- Ye Zhou (Shenzhen University, China): Reducing the Use of Pipette Tips in Spin-Coating Processes in Chemical Sciences Laboratories
| Country | Project Title | Project Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | Upcycling of Rubber Glove Wastes from Chemical Laboratories into Rubber Tiles | 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. |
| UK | Glove recycling hearts mind & carbon reduction | 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. |
| UK | SOS: Sussing Out Sustainability in Teaching Laboratories | 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. |
| UK | Life Cycle Assessment of Chromatography to Promote Sustainability-Focused Purification Methods | 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. |
| UK | Labour Circular Economies: Tackling Research Single-Use Plastic | 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. |
| Spain | Development of a sustainable purification strategy as an alternative to chromatography | 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. |
| Nigeria | Creating Sustainable Laboratory Recovery/Reuse Technology for Zero-waste in Research Practice | 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. |
| Netherlands | Sustainable and circular gloves for laboratory research | 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. |
| UK | Investigating 3Rs in screen-printed electrodes: Reproducibility, Regeneration and Reusability | 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. |
| UK | Shared Chemical Inventory for Waste Reduction and Sustainable research | 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. |
| UK | Making HPLC-based metabolomics greener: the case of choosing ethanol instead of acetonitrile. | 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. |
| Nigeria | Circular Economy Approaches in Laboratory Operations: From Waste Production to Resource Recovery | 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. |
| UK | Circular Labs: Creating Sustainable Lab Practices through Single-use Plastic Recycling and Material Integrity Analysis | 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. |
| UK | Application of a water purifier for sustainable LC-MS/MS mobile phase in small molecule analysis | 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. |
| UK | Recycling of single-use polypropylene plastics to create 3D-printed containers capable of trapping metals and metallopolymers from metal and WEEE waste | 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. |
| UK | Assessing Plant-Based 3D Printing Resins for Laboratory Use: Evaluating Print Quality and Biodegradability | 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. |
| UK | Using recycled solvents in research and teaching laboratories with pedagogy development, and a culture shift in solvent use | 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. |
| UK | RECOMPENSE: REcyclable Catalysts frOM PolystyrENe waStE. An Open Science platform for DIY protocols to upcycle Polystyrene waste from laboratories | 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. |
| UK | From Benchwork to Benchmark: Transforming Lab Sustainability with Advanced Metrology | 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. |
| UK | Sustainable Optimisation of Mass Spectrometry Analytical Workflow for Volatile Organic Compound Analysis | 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. |
| UK | Building sustainable practices in the laboratory: the development of a training tool for students to assess the sustainability of chemical research laboratory experiments | 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. |
| UK | Minimizing Waste Generation in Flash Chromatography Purification through AI and effective Recycling Strategies | 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. |
| Portugal | Reducing Environmental Impact of Research Laboratories | 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. |
| UK | Eco-system of Lab Equipment and Predictive Maintenance Management (ELEP2M) | 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. |
| China | Reducing the Use of Pipette Tips in Spin-Coating Processes in Chemical Sciences Laboratories | 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. |
Funding and Impact
More than £500,000 has now been given to researchers on three continents since the scheme’s launch in 2023.
The Sustainable Laboratories Grant Programme provides funding that leads to shared best practice and enables others to make their research activities and the chemical sciences as a whole more sustainable.
Future Plans
A third round of grant funding has been confirmed, with applications re-opening in September.
The programme is open to all RSC members and is an exciting opportunity for researchers to develop innovative solutions to sustainability challenges in laboratory settings.
Congratulations to the Recipients
We are delighted to see so many exciting projects across a wide range of disciplines and career stages.
The recipients represent a diverse group of researchers who are passionate about reducing the environmental impact of their work.
We look forward to seeing the impact of this funding on the sustainability of laboratory work.
A Message from the Chair of the Sustainable Laboratories Grant Programme
“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.