Taking the First Steps: Sustainability in the Lab at La Trobe University

Postdoctoral researcher at La Trobe University’s Institute of Molecular Science (LIMS), Dr Eduard Willms, discusses the work he has been doing alongside Thermo Fisher Scientific to implement more sustainable lab practices for a greener future in the university’s lab.

Thermo Fisher Scientific believes that achieving more environmentally conscious practices begins with looking beyond the traditional take-make-and dispose model that the scientific community was founded on.

For Dr Eduard Willms, this process began in early 2020 after witnessing the impacts of Australia’s bush fire season firsthand.

“It was a huge wake-up call for me,” he says. “After that, I started looking into whether there were organisations equipped to help me and my colleagues assess our realistic environmental impact from day-to-day operations.”

“That’s how I came across My Green Lab, and the work they are doing in collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Sustainability Program. I brought it up with my team, and we made the decision to commit to some tangible targets. We became the first lab in Australia to receive the My Green Lab certification,” he says.

Dr Willms’ work involves studying small lipid vesicles called exosomes, and the role they play in the communication between cells. In particular, the research covers how that impacts neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, and how those exosomes can be used to develop early detection methods, or biomarkers.

Key challenges for sustainability

He explains that the key challenge for his lab with taking steps towards greener practices has been striving for efficiency, while also maintaining the safety and quality of the research. One of the biggest hurdles has been encouraging a shift in perspective that can lead to changing behaviours previously rooted in old habits.

“A lot of these habits and standards have been the same way for years, so there is always going to be some level of resistance,” he says. “Thermo Fisher has helped us communicate to the wider science community what the benefits of making even small concessions can be.”

“Things like switching off a piece of equipment at the end of the day, which might not have previously been part of our workflow. Leaving it running overnight is what has always been done, when realistically there is no reason for that.”

In addition to swapping out cold storage units for more energy efficient freezers, Thermo Fisher Scientific worked with LIMS to minimise water consumption used in the incubation of samples.

“Throughout our transitional process, I communicated with the team at Thermo Fisher to get a better understanding of how we could approach these challenges,” says Dr Willms. “They introduced us to some innovative solutions that I wasn’t previously aware of, such as the Lab Armor™ Beads which reduce water consumption and prevent contamination in our laboratory baths.”

The team has also benefitted from useful identification tools like the ACT Labels, which Dr Willms says provide greater visibility over the manufacturing process, energy usage, and end-of-life disposal for single-use and consumable products.

“As scientists, we spend a lot of time and effort trying to come up with solutions to improve the world, but we have to reflect on the impacts of that work and how we can make different choices to affect change. Reducing things like single use plastics, chemical use, water and energy consumption are critical considerations for labs, while choosing not to do anything is also making a choice,” he says.

Dr Willms emphasises the value that Thermo Fisher Scientific’s support has provided the La Trobe Green Labs Working Group, by promoting a renewed network of environmentally conscious researchers throughout the university.  

“There is a real sense of community building around the green labs movement, both within Australia and across the globe,” he says. “Through the connections Thermo Fisher has shared with us, anyone can access a broad range of information, free training programs, and knowledge about certain classifications and products that we might not have known about before.”

“I would encourage anybody interested in making these changes in their own lab to reach out to Thermo Fisher Scientific, because their wealth of knowledge and technology available has influenced real progress for us toward achieving sustainability in the lab.”

Learn more about Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Sustainability program ›