Category: Wet Labs
Level: Silver
Author: Schell B., Hermuth-Kleinschmidt K., Scagliotti V., Weber P.,
The Impact: <p>Green procurement</p>
Details
Consumables and chemicals often lack accessible or transparent sustainability information. However, meaningful improvements can still be made by comparing simple metrics such as plastic weight, material composition, recyclability, modularity of kits, and availability of refill options.
The aim is to avoid unnecessary single-use items, reduce use, and select products with lower environmental footprints. When possible, asking suppliers for basic sustainability metrics helps identify lower-impact alternatives and allows better-informed purchasing decisions. Requesting full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies might be successful in some cases, and can lead to more transparent environmental impact information in the future.
Use the SPARKHub Plasticware & Consumable Calculators to explore environmental impacts of your protocols.
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