About
OUR MISSION
UCD GreenLabs
SRI GreenLabs
Environmental sustainability and climate action are key topics that must be addressed by UCD as an Institute of Higher Education. We are a group of UCD staff and students, who feel that it is increasingly urgent to embed sustainability in our work, whether our focus is research, teaching, clinical practice, field work, admin, operations, or any other area. For this reason, we formed the Sustainable Research Initiative (SRI) initially as a pilot project in CHAS, the College of Health and Agricultural Sciences.
The pilot was successful and, now into our third year, we have active participation from members across many disciplines in the University. We are currently affiliated with the UCD Sustainability Unit.
One of the major areas we have addressed is “sustainability in wet labs”. Scientific laboratories consume up to 10x the amount of energy and significantly more single-use disposable plastic than comparable office spaces. SRI members have participated in the My Green Lab (mygreenlab.org) certification process, which involves auditing and improving laboratory performance in 14 different areas, including energy use and waste management.
During our monthly meetings, we hear from members on their My Green Lab certification journeys. Member presentations and engagement are valuable, as we learn from each other and discuss best practices in sustainable laboratory management here at UCD.
For further information please email us at (opens in a new window)greenlabs@ucd.ie.
Significant outcomes from our work include recycling initiatives on campus, for example, a polystyrene recycling scheme with UCD Estates and Rehab, in which polystyrene used for packaging is collected and repurposed into building materials. We are also piloting the recycling of nitrile gloves with Kimberly Clark and Terracycle.
We host themed events, during Green Week 2024, we presented a collaborative workshop with Precious Plastics (https://www.preciousplasticdublin.org/) and the Innovation Academy promoting awareness of plastic recycling. A highlight of this event was a demonstration by Niamh Burke on her citizen science project, measuring plastic waste on our beaches.
Other events have featured presentations on sustainability at UCD Lyon’s farm, reducing carbon footprint while doing patient interviews in a translational medicine research project, and the issues facing solid waste management and recycling practices in UCD’s Residences. We have also heard from the new Green Labs officer at Trinity College Dublin, Dumitru Anton, and we actively participate in the Irish Green Labs Network, led by Dr. Una Fitzgerald of Curam, NUIG.
