22 July 2024 – The EMBO Lab Sustainability Award has been awarded to Martin Farley. EMBO spoke to Farley about his inspiration, career and future goals. He is Associate Director of Environmental Sustainability at UK Research and Innovation.
What are the main goals of your work?
When thinking of global environmental challenges, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. While lab sustainability alone won’t solve climate change, research is resource-intensive and individual efforts in this area can make a significant impact. We aim to empower people by identifying actionable steps that can be implemented in their labs, departments and organizations. Another message we emphasize is that sustainability can complement rather than hinder science – it can save resources, money, and improve scientific outcomes.
Could you provide a few of your favourite examples of lab sustainability?
One easy example is reducing energy consumption through better management of fume cupboards, equipment, and lighting. Another is ensuring we engage our staff in inductions, but also during departures to track what they leave behind – this avoids excessive samples and leftover waste materials. And, of course, promoting reuse wherever we can. We still need single use, but a study I co-wrote showed reuse had real environmental benefits in laboratories. One less considered example I’m really fond of is connecting sustainability to research quality and reproducibility.
How did you get into the sustainable science field?
My early work as a scientific researcher was largely defined by ‘failed’ projects and experiments, but in hindsight, these failures were very motivating. One of my most vivid memories of working in a tissue culture lab was realizing just how much plastic was being used on a study that wasn’t even published in the end. It struck me as very inefficient, and I found that many others felt the same way. This led me to take on an internship at the University of Edinburgh focused on environmental sustainability: what I thought would be a project lasting a few months snowballed into a full-fledged career. Since then, I have been fortunate to find success in the various roles I’ve been in.
Can you recall a few of the most impactful experiences in your career?
When I first started working on sustainable labs more than a decade ago, many scientists questioned why sustainability was relevant to their work: their focus was on getting important research done – sustainability issues were rarely in the foreground. However, I fondly remember the first time a scientist took the initiative to ask me for help in making their lab more sustainable. It’s been heartening to see the rapid culture change that has happened since then, and in many labs and institutes sustainability is now a high priority. I’ve even received a few enthusiastic requests from scientists wanting to join my team.
Another defining time was developing the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) at University College London. LEAF provides researchers and institutions with guidelines for improving efficiency and sustainability. It provides calculators to quantify environmental, energy and financial impacts of having taken actions, and criteria linking sustainable research practices and other important objectives such as reproducible science. The initiative encourages people to explore and identify issues and seize opportunities for change and I am particularly proud that it has spread to be utilised by organizations across Europe, though it involved many individuals to facilitate its uptake who are owed a lot of credit as well.
Another turning point is the work we have done towards building a research base for sustainable science practices. For example, I initiated multi-year study regarding the operating temperatures of ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers, which typically use as much electricity as an average home. While today the standard temperature for ULT freezers is -80°C, they have historically operated at -70°C. Raising the temperature these 10 degrees can reduce electricity consumption by a quarter. In 2015, my work around this was recognized by a UK award for sustainability excellence in higher education. This was an amazing moment, as it was sectorial recognition that our work was having a meaningful impact.
Is there a need for more studies into the environmental impacts of research?
There are many people who have done great work in this area, but there’s still much more to be done. Personally, I’ve been involved in several studies, including one demonstrating how reusing consumables can reduce carbon emissions, by quantifying emissions across the full product lifecycle. Many people were previously sceptical that reuse could make a meaningful difference to emissions. What I’ve learned from such projects is the importance of quantifying with a purpose: the goal should be to facilitate mitigation efforts, to understand their effectiveness, and to act.
Another important thing to consider is that some of the simplest ways to make labs more sustainable aren’t necessarily detailed in publications. For instance, during our studies of lab freezers, we noticed that even before any results were published, people were already implementing improvements based on discussions with others. I believe that some of the most beneficial work lies in directly engaging with people, for instance through conversations, workshops, and team inductions – showing them practical ways of making a tangible impact in their own space.
Who should take responsibility for driving sustainable lab initiatives?
Those specialists who come into their labs, take risks, and actively seek to implement sustainable practices play a crucial role in demonstrating their feasibility. However, most people do not have the luxury of making this their full-time job like I do, and often contributions to sustainable labs are voluntary. Therefore, it is essential for institutional leadership, research organizations, funding agencies, and other people in powerful positions to provide the necessary resources, recognition – like this award –, and endorsement to standardize and expand sustainable lab initiatives. Fortunately, most people working in science see sustainability as an important objective and are motivated to act when shown how.
How do you feel about winning the EMBO Lab Sustainability Award?
It’s an amazing feeling and a fantastic honour. The EMBO award provides recognition of the work we and others have been doing to improve the sustainability of science across Europe and provides us with a great platform to do more in future. The prize will be put towards supporting networks of sustainable labs across Europe, such as the Laboratory Efficiency Action Network and the Sustainable European Laboratories Network, which play an important role in promoting sustainable labs in Europe and are largely reliant on the time of volunteers.
What are your future goals and ambitions? Ten months ago, my partner and I welcomed our son, which has brought some changes to my life. I want to avoid burnout and be present at home, while also to keep contributing to making science and research more environmentally sustainable. There’s still a lot more that can be done, and while we don’t have all the solutions yet, I would love to be a part of developing them going forward.
