Top Marks for Sustainable Research

The organizers explain how their labs went green.

Two of our labs at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, the Schaefer/Frentz department and the Huppertz lab, have achieved the Green rating of the My Green Lab Certification - the highest level possible. This certification is considered the global standard for best practices in laboratory sustainability. We spoke with the organizers about this outstanding achievement, the certification process, and what it means for sustainable research at our institute.

First of all, congratulations on this achievement! Your laboratories have received the highest rating of the Green Lab Certificate. What was your first thought when you found out?

Michael: Wow, our efforts really paid off!

Danae: I was very happy and a bit relieved that our efforts to make our laboratory more sustainable were recognised.

What prompted you to want to make your laboratory more sustainable? Were there any specific observations in your day-to-day laboratory work that made you rethink things?

Danae: As scientists, we aim to make the world a better place, but our work also has a significant environmental impact. For example, we use a lot of plastic, some of which cannot be recycled, but we can certainly reduce our usage and reuse what we can.

Michael: I joined the institute’s sustainability group in 2024. During our regular meetings, I realized how resource-intensive life science institutes like our Institute operate. Then we came across the Klein Lab at the University Hospital. They had completed a certification for sustainable science labs by MyGreenLab. We directly thought: Could this be applicable to the MPI?

How did you get started in practical terms?

Michael: We contacted Anna Schmitt from Klein Lab to learn about the certification process. Her feedback was generally positive, so we discussed our options in the sustainability committee. We did not really know what to expect, so we decided to choose our two labs as pilots. 

Danae: Also for me, the talk by Anna Schmitt, organised by the sustainability committee a couple of years ago, was my main inspiration. It was at this point that we started taking advantage of the take-back schemes offered by some companies and began recycling clean packaging and paper. My supervisor then announced that we would be participating in the application process for the Green Lab Certificate, so I decided to obtain the Green Lab Ambassador certification and begin educating my colleagues on the proper use of resources such as ultra-pure water.

Who was involved, and how did you get your colleagues in the lab on board?

Michael: In our department, we assembled a MyGreenLab core team consisting of the managing and technical staff of the department. When we received the baseline assessment, all further action were initiated within this team. The bigger team was constantly up to date and we had regular briefings about the survey results and the measures that are planned, with the option to bring up their concerns.

Danae: Everyone in my lab was happy to participate. I was very surprised by how invested everyone was. We started implementing changes, and if they were unsure about something, they would not hesitate to ask. Then we started making decisions together.

What aspect of the certification process proved more time-consuming than you’d anticipated?

Michael: The first feedback by MyGreenLab was really comprehensive. We got lots of feedback on our existing strategies to act sustainable, how we could improve those and implement new ones. It took us a while to screen through all suggestions and to create a work plan that was realistic and impactful at the same time. 

Was there a small change that had an unexpectedly significant impact?

Danae: In our lab, we do a lot of cell culture work. Small measures such as sending back the cell culture media bottles for recycling, using a bead bath instead of a water bath, and reducing the UV time in the safety cabinets did not impact our work, but had a significant impact on the resources we use every day.

Michael: We labelled all electronic devices in the lab with colored stickers that indicate if the machine should be stay in stand-by or be turned off after use. The effort was minimal, but the effect was enormous. We stimulated lively discussions in the lab, with the result that we save a lot of energy and extend the machine’s lifespan.

Where did you have to balance sustainability, safety and scientific requirements?

Michael: The purpose of the institute is to conduct high quality aging research. This goal comes first, and all other goals have to be pursued without lowering the research quality. That’s why we decided not to restrict our purchasing team to brands or products that are green-certified. We do not want to make compromises when it comes to the enzymes, antibodies or drugs that are essential to the success of a project.

Danae: Unfortunately, it is difficult to replace single-use products with reusable ones in cell culture work. While we store custom-made media in glass bottles, we have not yet found an alternative to using plastic serological pipettes and cell culture vessels. We still need to use sterile products for these to avoid contamination.

Which measure would you recommend to other research groups who want to get started straight away?

Michael: Cooling devices are usually kept colder than necessary. Increasing the maintenance temperatures of our fridges and freezers takes few minutes – only a few degrees are sufficient and within a range that does not affect biological samples. The energy saving effect is tremendous, e.g. ultra-low temperature freezers at -70 °C instead of -80 °C consume up to 30 % less energy.

Danae: Similarly, regarding energy consumption, I was surprised at how much energy can be saved by keeping the fume hood sash closed. It is a small change that has a big impact.

What are the next steps, and what would you like to improve next?

Michael: We currently evaluate options to become more sustainable on the institute level. There are certain measures concerning the building infrastructure, which could make our research at the MPI much more energy-efficient. We will have an exchange with our infrastructure staff soon, I am really looking forward.

Danae: As technology progresses, I hope that more solutions will emerge for sustainable laboratory research. It is an ongoing process of adapting without compromising. My colleagues also always come up with creative ideas, which makes this job a lot easier.