Sustainability at the IoO in 2023-2024
Sustainability activities at the institute over the last academic year.
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Awards and Sustainability team
Every year we submit evidence for two awards run by UCL.
Green Impact pertains to offices, common areas and Library spaces. While our Library submit their own qualification criteria, the Sustainability team submit entry for the rest of the building. For 2024 we achieved Bronze and we are looking to significantly improve on this next year. LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) is now fast becoming the de facto audit process for research laboratories. While it originated within UCL, it has now been adopted by many other HE sites around the world and meets the expectations of the funders that sustainability is considered key to successful research environments.
We welcomed the recent news of UCL ranking first in the UK and 5th globally in QS Sustainability Rankings. We believe this reflects the impact of initiatives such as the UCL Sustainability Awards, in which we are proud to participate as an institute. This year, we received Gold in the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) category for the fourth consecutive year. Even with the criteria having been raised in requirement, we still aim to maintain that level of assessment going forwards.
We had a presentation at this year’s IoO Week to promote sustainability. This included the opportunity to recruit more members. We now have two Student Ambassadors in the team and are looking forward to receiving their perspectives and support on Green Impact initiatives. We have an active cycling group between IoO and Moorfields as the EyeBike group.
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Lights
We were able to fix/reprogram the timer which had the lights in the loading bay only come on in day light. Most recently, these old high energy lights were decommissioned and replaced with LED floodlights on a PIR sensor, so they come on when people are in the area. Historically, fluorescent tubes were regarded as energy-efficient due to their ability to produce a significant amount of light while generating minimal heat, which helps to reduce wasted energy. Given that most of our lighting relies on this older technology, UCL Estates will replace entire light fittings as necessary and will utilize existing stock of tubes until it is depleted. When this occurs, the old fittings, primarily composed of tin and aluminum, will be decommissioned and repurposed for new applications. The old fluorescent tubes are initially classified as hazardous waste; however, they will subsequently be sorted for the purpose of recycling their individual materials.
The lights around the portacabins should also be replaced in due course.
General Waste Management
Our Building Manager, Paul, has been working with both the UCL Waste Management team and our collectors Islington Council. We are actively looking at ways to reduce our waste output to the extent of reducing the number of our 1100l waste carts from five to four. We acknowledge that there are occasions when we do not adhere to standard procedures for using the appropriate waste streams. However, we remain committed to enhancing this practice throughout our community and fostering a sense of accountability in waste management among all members.
The Lab Operations Team are focused on promoting better waste disposal in the laboratory spaces – this is in part to defend our annual LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) status which is currently the highest level of Gold.
Reducing Energy Use
Data shows that our energy use doesn't reduce much over the weekends. This is a reflection that much of our high energy consumption is by Ultra Low Temperature Freezers (ULT). These are often referred to as -80° Freezers. Over the last two years we have been changing them to -70°C which can easily achieve a 20% reduction in energy. Due to our Lifts in Aston and 6B buildings breaking down several times, people have gotten used to taking the stairs a lot more. Our Sustainability team are now considering taking one of our lifts out of service periodically to save energy and encourage people to take the stairs for their onw health benefits.