The Road to Sustainability for Medical and the Life Sciences - 24th May 2022
In a world where resources are finite and being rapidly depleted, sustainability has become a high priority goal for all industries. In the field of chemical and life science research, this is a challenge that is still to be addressed. For example, 76% of industrial organic chemicals now come from petroleum, and running a single fume hood for a day using enough power to run 3 homes. Scientists are overwhelmingly in favour of decisive action against climate change, and yet often many of our practices in research are counterproductive to this goal. join us and our fantastic speakers Martin Farley (director at Green Lab Associates and LEAF) and Charlotte Houghton (head of Sustainable Lab Programme at Oxford) for our seminar with a focus on how research can become more environmentally sustainable, in particular how to reduce energy usage, the production of hazardous and solvent waste materials, and single use plastics within research.
The Panel
Martin Farley – Director of Green Lab Associates
Raised between France and the US, Martin started down the path of becoming a researcher in his university years, taking him to Canada, the US, and the Netherlands. This path was interrupted though, when his passion for sustainability led him to become the UK's (and Europe’s) first full-time sustainable laboratory specialist at the University of Edinburgh. Since then Martin has worked at various UK universities to establish sustainable lab programs. Martin is the Director of Green Lab Associates which provides hands-on consultancy to help improve the efficiency and sustainability of labs. A large part of this initiative is delivering the LEAF policy, a user-friendly programme designed to help integrate sustainability practices into research labs, which has recently been introduced to various departments within the University of Oxford.
Charlotte Houghton – Sustainability Project Manager at University of Oxford
Charlotte is the Sustainability Project Manager specialising in lab optimisation at the University of Oxford. Charlotte’s role supports the university’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy to reach Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2035. Charlotte liaises closely with both the LEAF team and lab/building managers to increase sustainability engagement across the university.
Please register at the eventbrite link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/grand-challenges-the-road-to-sustainability-for-medical-and-life-sciences-tickets-335192990257
