From Left to Right: En King (Senior Technician), Sarah Roberts (Technician), William Horne (Teaching Laboratory Supervisor), Eva Wallis (Technician)
The LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) was introduced to the University of Sussex in January 2023. By July that year, both teaching teams in the School of Life Sciences had achieved Bronze Awards. The race was on to see who would achieve the Silver Award first and Chemistry pipped the Biosciences team to the win.
The Bioscience teaching technicians fought back in the sustainability race and have now achieved the first Gold LEAF award on campus.
The LEAF programme aims to assess, encourage and improve sustainability and good working practices in a step-by-step, manageable and measurable way to encourage lab users to take part and improve efficiency in all areas. The Biosciences team considered the multiple criteria such as people, purchasing, equipment, sample and chemical management and waste and found ways to improve yet again on their working and delivery methods for teaching in the biosciences labs.
Dr Rob Fowler, Associate Director of Technical Operations is the institutional lead for LEAF. He said: “The Biosciences Teaching Technical Team's Gold LEAF Award is a remarkable achievement and recognition of their commitment to sustainable laboratory practice. As the first team at Sussex to reach Gold, they have set a strong example of how sustainability can be embedded into everyday laboratory activities, helping to reduce environmental impact while maintaining excellent teaching support. Their success demonstrates what can be achieved through creativity, collaboration and a shared commitment to continuous improvement.”
Biosciences senior technician, En King shared their thoughts on the ongoing sustainability challenges in the teaching labs: “We’re incredibly proud to have achieved the Gold LEAF Award. This milestone reflects not only the significant sustainable changes we have made, but also the way we have rethought and embedded sustainability into how we work day to day.
Building on the ideas and achievements that led us to our Silver Award, we have continued to identify new ways to reduce plastic waste and developed how we reuse consumables. We have focused on making more sustainable purchasing decisions, as well as sharing and rehoming excess equipment and reagents within the school and the wider community rather than these items going to waste.
We have also expanded our work into new areas, including researching alternatives to commonly used solvents and reagents to identify more environmentally friendly options. In addition, we have developed sustainability protocols for our office spaces, ensuring that the positive practices established in our laboratories are reflected across our wider working environment.
By creating a culture where sustainability is embedded in the way we work, rather than treated as an afterthought, we have been able to make meaningful and lasting positive changes. Achieving the Gold LEAF Award is a fantastic recognition of this collective effort and a milestone that we are extremely proud of.”
In addition to the team’s success, William Horne, the Teaching Laboratory Supervisor for Biosciences in the School of Life Sciences, recently passed the challenging NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety.
Dr Rob Fowler, Associate Director of Technical Operations added: “A huge congratulations also to William Horne on successfully completing the NEBOSH Certificate - a significant achievement which strengthens our health and safety expertise and reflects Will’s commitment to creating a safe and supportive teaching laboratory environment for everyone.”
Will completed this award alongside his busy supervisory role supporting the staff, students and many practicals in the laboratories and field. This qualification further enhances his skills and expertise helping him to carry out his varied health and safety management responsibilities in the teaching labs.
The NEBOSH course digs deeper into topics already offered by LearnUpon and in other training offered by the University, such as managing health and safety effectively, identifying workplace hazards, measuring success and UK legal requirements.
If you would like to sign your lab up to this programme, please go to https://app.ucl.ac.uk/leaf/leaf_external and register using your email ending in @sussex.ac.uk. You can then apply to create a lab.