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In 2021, the Radboudumc Green Lab Initiative (GLI) took off. The path followed by the GLI is an excellent example of how bottom-up initiatives can sprout and grow. It shows that the commitment of the young researchers at RIMLS to a healthy future goes much further than their daily research activities.
GLI was born from disappointment turned into enthusiasm of 4 PhD candidates, Julie Verhoef, Estel Collado Camps, Ezgi Taşköprü, and Rebecca Halbach, in late 2020. Now, we have not only PhD candidates but also technicians, policy advisors, master students working together to make our professional lifestyle sustainable.
We did a lot in 2021. However, details are already provided in detail in different media. There is a great video by Teun Bousema, Julie, and Estel on GLI’s first significant achievement: The Radboudumc Freezer Challenge. 13 lab groups, in 3 months, managed to save 26% energy by just changing the temperature of their ultralow temperature (ULT) freezers from -80 oC to -70 oC.
In collaboration with the Radboud Green Office, we’ve shot a video on GLI’s foundation, the challenges that we had, and some tips and tricks for newly starting green teams. Currently there are 7 green teams, apart from GLI. Also, thanks to our technician members, we’ve published a Dutch article in the national magazine of NVML (Dutch Association of Biomedical Laboratory Employees).
We have written monthly blogs for the Radboudumc Research Newsletter, which granted us some new members. The topics range from using glassware in the lab, hidden threat of vampire power, the ecological costs of data storage and maintaining servers, and sustainable office habits to conscious gift giving. We hope that there is something for everyone to learn. We’ve also promoted the Thoughtful Travel Pledge initiated by Prof. Teun Bousema, a vow to be more mindful of the ecological consequences of academic traveling.
The growth of the GLI means a lot. It means that more people are at the frontline of working towards sustainability and creating awareness in several departments. In this way, awareness can spread like an oil slick on the ocean. Says Walther van den Broek, senior technician. A benign oil slick, in this case. Walther initiated a green team at the Department of Cell Biology, which is now connected to the GLI.
It makes us proud that our efforts grew to a national level within a single year, showing the power of shared ideas and active networking. In 2021, Green Labs NL was formed by researchers and staff from Sanquin Amsterdam, the Princess Maxima Center for child oncology, the ErasmusMC, Leiden University and our own RIMLS. Green Labs NL is the coming together of research sustainability enthusiasts from all over the Netherlands. By means of a rapid growing network, its goal is to encourage more sustainable research countrywide.
Green Labs NL has led us to a grant from the Ministry of Health, Wellbeing and Sport (VWS) to implement the pilot phase of the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) in the Netherlands. LEAF is a very successful guidance tool, which has been implemented in over 20 research institutions in the UK. Four labs from RIMLS are already testing LEAF, joining other Dutch institutions in the race to reduce carbon emissions.
The endeavors of the GLI have not been without difficulties. The first year has taught us about the importance of flexibility, horizontality, and openness in an institution. Many important partners did not know each other before the GLI brought them together. At times we did not know who was ultimately responsible or whom we had to approach when needing certain expertise. We also felt how the high workload and bureaucratic needs can prevent new ideas from flourishing. But we are proud of what we learned. Now that the RIMLS is part of an institute-broad reorganization (both physical and organizational), we want to send some key messages:
Flexibility and openness are needed to achieve cultural change. Cathelijne Frielink, a senior technician at Nuclear Medicine, saw how a simple message could change the perspective of many colleagues: 1,5 years ago, we joined the freezer challenge. When I asked everyone's permission to change the temperature from -80ºC to -70ºC to save a lot of energy, the whole group agreed. No one had realized before that a ULT at -80ºC was using that much energy, and that -70ºC was also a possibility!
Working in well-connected teams, promoting horizontality, and learning from each other will benefit innovation. The way a laboratory works is very specialized - even between labs, there are differences. Cathelijne tells us how having to be careful with radioactive waste makes one more conscious of how much is discarded and how:
At other departments, the workers from Asito take care of the regular bins in the lab. We have to do that ourselves because regular waste can be contaminated with radioactivity. We work with large amounts of radioactive material, which is discarded via a special route. If you trash your own waste, it’s more evident how much waste a lab is producing in one week! The amount of recyclable paper and plastic that end up in the wrong bins has been irritating me for years.
The Nuclear Medicine lab is also the first laboratory in The Netherlands to achieve the LEAF bronze level. Congratulations, and thank you for your dedication!
Translating plans from the lab to the managing teams and vice versa is challenging. Our advice? Visit each other. Before embarking on plans, learn how all parties work. Communicate proactively and state your needs and expectations. The next time a GLI member seems to be talking gibberish, ask for a guided tour. We would love to show you around the lab.
Thijmen Sietsma, the coordinator of Radboud Green Office, is working on connecting different green teams so that we all are more efficient. We are trying to get a plan of action from all the Green Teams. This gives us an overview of what every Green Team is working on. With this knowledge, we can connect Green Teams. We are also thinking about planning a symposium or another event where Green Teams can meet up and exchange ideas and experiences.
After all we’ve learned and done, the GLI is better connected and looking ahead to ambitious plans. We entered the phase 2 of the LEAF pilot and recently participated in a workshop to strengthen our connections and set the following goals. We’ll work to measure the energy consumption of lab equipment and monitor how much energy we can save. We are connected with the sustainability workgroup to ensure that the future lab spaces are designed for more sustainable daily work. We’ll continue our awareness campaign by organizing workshops, Q&A sessions, and writing more blogs.
Cathelijne and Walther sum up what our goals are for 2022: We have to change the mentality of all the people who are working in the lab. That needs time. But just reminding, again and again, is essential to change the culture!
Our secret recipe for the next steps? Well, it’s not at all that secret: A good and clear plan to convince the right people. Keep following us in these next steps. And who knows? Maybe you will even join our efforts.
Blog by Estel Collado Camps and Özlem Bulut
