Sustainability Initiative
In 2021, a group of young SyNergy investigators (PhDs and Postdocs) partnered with young researchers from collaborating institutions, such as the BMC Green Initiative, to launch the SyNergy Sustainability Initiative. This initiative aims to conduct research, engage in discussions, propose and implement actions and policies to reduce our environmental impact in the laboratory, and promote more sustainable research practices. SyNergy financially supports the initiative.
Sustainable action of the month
To raise awareness, we introduced a sustainable action of the month (SAM) every month as a means to provide information and offer locally applicable solutions to reduce our consumption. Examples:
- PET recycling (recycled in 3 month 82.5 kg of PET bottles (= approx. 1080 bottles) and 432 pipette tip boxes)
- Reducing energy consumption (closing fume hoods and biosafety cabinets and turning off equipment and computers when not in use and not needed)
- Check your suppliers / create a Distributor Sustainability Score Manufacturing / Packaging / Awareness (for important suppliers of SyNergy)
- Freezer challenge, an international competition to promote freezer maintenance and thereby save energy (with an internal price for the winning SyNergy research group)
My Green Lab
Researchers are encouraged to join the My Green Lab program and may receive Green Lab Certifications for successful participation. The program is officially recognized by the United Nations Race to Zero program. One institute within the Synergy cluster – the Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology – already participated in the certification program and received a platinum status (see here).
Symposium: Sustainable World – Global challenges for life scientists
Every four years the Sustainable World symposium takes place – a forum for next generation researchers of all levels to inform themselves further on diverse sustainability topics, hearing from passionate experts in the fields of ecology, economy, and sociology. The symposium is co-initiated and co-organized by SyNergy.
"I believe that it is important to consider the impacts of my research activity beyond the intended scientific implications, especially as our impacts on the environment become all the more evident in recent years. Fortunately, small changes by individuals in our daily research activities can reduce our combined environmental impacts drastically. Knowing that most scientists are eager to help the cause but are confronted with not enough time to find out how, I see an opportunity where I could contribute by making sustainable actions more accessible. Being part of this initiative demonstrated to me that changes are possible even though obstacles are inevitable. I have learned to prioritize realistic goals and engage the right people to extend projects beyond my capabilities. Our sustainability initiative will focus on maintaining the sustainable actions we have introduced in our institute and bringing awareness through connecting with other institutes to expand our experiences to workspaces where they might be applicable."
Samantha Ho, PhD student, Institute for Clinical Neuroimmunology
"I care about sustainability and was happy to find a group of people willing to take on the challenge of improving our lab's footprint. Through my involvement in our GreenLab Initiative, I have learned that even a slight increase in awareness, combined with a few collective behavioral adjustments, can substantially reduce a lab’s environmental impact. For example, reducing the number of active -80°C freezers for certain time or closing fume hoods when not in use has already resulted in significant energy savings. These small changes are easy for even the busiest scientist to incorporate, yet they can make a meaningful difference in our environmental footprint."
Adrian Marti Pastor, PhD student, Institute of Neuronal Cell Biology and DZNE
“As scientists in wet labs, we have a higher CO2 footprint than the majority of people and are working in one of the most resource-intensive spaces in any industry. Therefore, I think it is highly important to tackle this problem from the bottom up and implement a culture of sustainability within our labs. Throughout the Sustainability Initiative, I have learned that we can also reach a lot with small implications in our daily lab life & aim to motivate others to also push forward sustainable measures within their facilities. In the upcoming years, our initiative will focus on maintaining the actions we have already implemented within our institutes as well as sharing our experiences throughout the Synergy network with others.”
Jan Bartosch, PhD student, Institute for Clinical Neuroimmunology