IBEC’s Core Facilities and nine of its research groups have undergone the “green laboratory” certification process granted by the My Green Lab organization, all awarded with the highest levels of certification. “My Green Lab certification” is an international standard for laboratory sustainability best practices. The program covers 14 topics related to energy, water, waste, chemistry, materials, and engagement. After the success of this pilot program, IBEC expects to certify all its groups in 2024.
Biomedical research laboratories are some of the most resource-intensive spaces in any industry. Therefore, it is relevant for research centers to provide their staff with the appropriate information and means to optimize these resources as much as possible.
Among IBEC’s values is the commitment to promote more sustainable practices in research and administration to contribute, in our daily work, to fight climate change and pollution. Aligned with these objectives, IBEC’s Core Facilities and nine of its research groups have undergone, for the first time, the “green laboratory” certification process, an international standard for laboratory sustainability best practices granted by the My Green Lab organization. All the laboratories that applied to the process have been awarded with the highest levels of certification.
The program covers 14 topics related to energy, water, waste, chemistry, materials, and engagement, and provides scientists and the teams that support work within laboratories actionable ways to make real and impactful environmental changes.
The IBEC laboratories that applied for certification underwent a first assessment in July 2022. It served to analyze the practices carried out up to that point and gave recommendations for improving them.
The next step was a co-creation process to define and apply improvements in each laboratory. After some time of implementation, in March of this year the final evaluation was carried out to grant the level of certification corresponding to each laboratory. There are five certification levels depending on the percentage of measures implemented, the highest being the “Platinum” level, that certifies 70% or more actions implemented, and the “Green” level, that certifies 80% or more.
The Core Facilities and the 9 research groups that carried out the certification process at IBEC were all awarded with the “Platinum” or “Green” levels: Molecular Bionics, Nanobioengineering, Pluripotency for Organ Regeneration, Biosensors for Bioengineering, Integrative Cell and Tissue Dynamics, Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology. , Molecular Imaging for Precision Medicine, Nanoprobes and Nanoswitches, Cellular and Molecular Mechanobiology, and Core Facilities).
The whole process has been possible thanks to the strong involvement of IBEC’s Sustainable Research Committee and the participating research groups, and the network of sustainability managers from each group.
Following the success of this pilot program, IBEC expects to certify all its groups in 2024.
The My Green Lab certification was selected in 2021 as a key indicator of progress for the United Nations’ Race to Zero campaign. The goal of this global campaign is to take rigorous and immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030 and reach the goal of a carbon-free world by 2050.
To date, My Green Lab has supported nearly 1500 laboratories in various sectors, helping to save money and preserve resources while ensuring a safe and healthy environment.
