Setting new standards for British laboratories

Lab Innovations, the UK’s largest annual laboratory trade show, has been around since 2012. In that time, it has hosted authoritative, expert figures from all lab sectors and provided a forum to discuss the key issues facing the industry. Here, two members of the show’s advisory board share their thoughts on the challenges that stand between the brilliant, industrious laboratory workers of this country and our progress towards a more inclusive, sustainable future.

Raj Patey

Raj is business development director at Impact Laboratories, a subsidiary of the non-profit sustainability consultancy My Green Lab.

My Green Lab was founded in 2014. Since then, while advising laboratories globally on energy and water usage, chemical and consumable waste, and sourcing practices, we’ve seen a marked change in attitudes towards sustainability. Our mission statement is to build a global culture of sustainability in science. Laboratory managers, researchers and procurement professionals have made good progress.

The onus has transitioned from isolated, passionate individuals to genuinely institutional efforts to change operating procedures and supply chains to promote sustainability. Initiatives such as UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) environmental sustainability strategy and Wellcome’s sustainability standards incentivise better ways to conduct laboratory work.

These examples provide frameworks for laboratories to make their operations more sustainable, either through adopting renewable electricity sources, phasing out single-use materials or addressing scope three emissions.

From our work, it’s plain that small steps are the way to make lasting change, especially when shrugging off initial resistance

Raj Patey

While both research and industry innovations require bravery and desire to push boundaries, scientific decision-makers can be surprisingly conservative when it comes to adapting their processes. This can stem from entirely legitimate apprehensions, such as losing accreditation for an important procedure or taking on greater costs. To effect the change that our planet needs, environmental advocates must mitigate these concerns wherever possible.

Incentivising accreditation and voluntary adherence to industry-wide standards encourages companies to tackle these concerns. Wellcome has announced that all the laboratories that it funds must complete a green lab certification programme. AstraZeneca has integrated My Green Lab’s own green lab certification programme globally.

From our work, it’s plain that small steps are the way to make lasting change, especially when shrugging off initial resistance. The first of these steps is awareness: helping lab managers and technicians understand the impact of their labs on the environment and the options available to lessen it.

Laboratories are, unfortunately, a sizeable contributor to humanity’s emissions. My Green Lab’s 2023 carbon impact of biotech & pharma report showed that the biotech and pharma industry increased its carbon impact from 3.9% in 2021 to 5% in 2022.

There are positive signs, however. As part of the United Nations high-level climate champions’ ‘net-zero emissions by 2050’ umbrella initiative, it has designated target outcomes for each sector. My Green Lab’s certification programme was selected first for the pharma/biotech sector and, in 2023, the whole healthcare value chain: by 2030, 95% of laboratories will achieve certification at the programme’s highest level.

Clearly, the trend towards sustainable laboratory practices is gathering momentum. The challenge now is to take action quickly enough to catch up with the environmental damage already sustained by the planet. Events like Lab Innovations that promote collaboration and spark conversations are crucial to the laboratory industry taking cohesive steps towards a sustainable future.

Jiteen Ahmed

Jiteen is head of technical services at Aston University and chair of the Laboratory Group at the Southern Universities Procurement Consortium (SUPC).

Anyone who has worked in a laboratory is familiar with technicians; or at least the capacity in which they overlap with one’s own work. In reality, many people who have passed through teaching, research and clinical labs only see the support provided by the hard work of the incumbent technician. Their true role is extensive, holistic and multi-faceted.

Few people in the lab impact proceedings in as many areas as technicians. While individual roles vary between labs, technicians often handle anything from procurement of consumables and equipment to operating and maintaining instrumentation and supporting students in meeting key learning objectives. Furthermore, they support academics with safety and compliance inspections and record keeping and normally handle hazardous material and waste disposal. Inventory management is often part of their remit too. All this is before considering their direct research contributions.

Few people in the lab impact proceedings in as many areas as technicians

Jiteen Ahmed

Clearly, there’s plenty to do. However, like many sectors such as medicine, construction and education, a shortage of skilled workers makes it hard for the lab industry to recruit the technical staff it needs.

This issue is compounded for technicians specifically by the nature of the job: practical experience acquired over long careers, for example quickly diagnosing instrumentation malfunctions or knowing where to source an elusive chemical, is very difficult to replace at short notice.

Procurement consortia, like the SUPC and others around the country, are working to reduce the burden placed on technicians. UPCs all over the UK are each producing framework agreements, running a competitive, compliant tender exercise which will provide lists of reliable, cost-effective suppliers.

The institution of UPCs has highlighted to the lab industry how valuable technicians’ technical knowledge is. The Technician Commitment is specifically targeted towards this goal and has been instrumental in helping to win recognition for the technician community. Launched in 2017 by Kelly Vere MBE, the Technician Commitment has four pillars: visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability.

The Technician Commitment has led to technicians being credited in research papers both as named authors and for supporting roles; technical staff being able to apply for research grant funding such as the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) equipment funding; technical staff being recognised for teaching; apprentices being hired to safeguard the knowledge and experience of technical staff; technicians on institutional decision-making bodies and more.

Simply elevating the status of technicians for its own sake is not the goal. Making practical use of that technical expertise benefits everyone in ‘team science’ and, to continue maximising their contributions, the pipeline of new technicians will require close maintenance and support. T-levels, a new form of secondary education qualification, degree apprenticeships and work placements are all ways of attracting bright young people to technical roles and providing another source of talent for the scientific community.

Lab Innovations is a unique event for technicians as the only one that serves every aspect of their work. Furthermore, through the show’s awards, it recognises the crucial role technicians play in the industry with its dedicated prize for lab technician of the year.

Solving problems together

The lab industry is the jewel in the crown of British industry, central to innovation and discovery. However, to continue to shine, it must overcome challenges around sustainability and skills shortages. By connecting the brightest minds and convening key decision-makers in one building, Lab Innovations is the place to be to do just that.