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Science changes the world every day, but the price of scientific breakthroughs can weigh heavily on the environment. To significantly lower the environmental footprint of how scientific research is conducted, My Green Lab has pioneered new, sustainable science approaches and is working with leading companies like Thermo Fisher Scientific to demonstrate these solutions.

Laboratories consume around ten times as much energy as a typical commercial office and four times more water. Certain scientific industries like the pharmaceutical sector can produce up to 55% higher carbon emissions than the automotive industry. However, innovative non-profit organizations, institutions, and companies are showing there is a better way. Thermo Fisher’s work with My Green Lab, a global non-profit with a mission to create a culture of sustainability in science, shows it’s possible to create life-changing innovations with a reduced environmental impact.

“There is a growing awareness that the science alone is not going to save us,” said Rachael Relph, PhD, Chief Sustainability Officer, My Green Lab. “A big part of what we do at My Green Lab is identify the ways that scientists can incorporate sustainability into their daily work without compromising the integrity of their science.”

My Green Lab encourages better sustainability practices through a number of transformative programs and initiatives. Green Lab Certification, their flagship program, engages scientists and those who support science to implement sustainability in laboratories. Through this program they have certified nearly 500 labs in dozens of countries and the program continues to grow.

Further, you cannot have a green lab without green lab products, so My Green Lab introduced the ACT label program, a first-of-its-kind eco-nutrition label for laboratory products, in 2018 to enable sustainable laboratory procurement. Thermo Fisher was an early adopter of the ACT label. “The ACT label provides a score for the environmental impact of the manufacture, use and end of life of a product. The lower the score, the more the product is environmentally friendly,” said Emelia DeForce, PhD, Senior Staff Scientist, Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Another key initiative of My Green Lab is the annual Freezer Challenge competition, which provides labs with new solutions to help reduce the energy demands of ultra-freezing and cooling technology. Thermo Fisher is one of My Green Lab’s sponsors for the annual competition.

“We enable our customers to deal with some of the most complex problems that face society,” said Peter Silvester, SVP and President Life Sciences and Laboratory Products, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “Scientists are quite rightly making demands of companies like us to produce technologies and solutions that help them avoid some of their environmental challenges.” A readily recyclable 100% paper cooler for the cold transport of temperature-sensitive products is one of Thermo Fisher’s latest innovations. The cooler is an alternative to the traditional expanded polystyrene cooler.

Thermo Fisher is the world leader in serving science, with a global team of more than 80,000 colleagues delivering innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through their industry-leading brands; including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, and Patheon.

The work between My Green Lab and Thermo Fisher is setting the bar and challenging the status quo in the industry, leading the way to go further, faster. “While ambitious carbon commitments are great, they need to be backed up by action,” said James Connelly, CEO, My Green Lab. “We actually need radical collaboration across the industry if we’re going to create the breakthroughs that are truly going to transform science.”