Sustainability

Cognisant of the impact that lab research has on our environment, GNC researchers are committed to adopting green lab principles and practice within their labs. These efforts are aimed at educating researchers about their own behaviours and attitudes to lab waste, while pointing to opportunities to reduce the negative impact that their research has on the environment.  The University of Galway has pledged to certify all labs on-campus as ‘green’, by 2026 and GNC members are eager to help the university to meet this ambitious goal.

For further information about registering for green lab certification, or about the ‘Green Lab Principles and Practice’ 5-ECTS graduate module, please contact Dr Una FitzGerald (una.fitzgerald@universityofgalway.ie).

Details of the steps involved in certification can also be found on the ‘My Green Lab’ website (www.mygreenlab.org).  

A short video documenting the story of certification of the CÚRAM lab at the University of Galway can be viewed by clicking here, while an Irish Times article profiling this effort is accessible here.”

The University of Galway led the setting up of Irish Green Labs, a network that was launched on ‘Earth Day’, April 22^nd, 2022.  See https://irishgreenlabs.org/ to learn more about lab greening efforts on the island of Ireland and to make a request to join the network, to receive notifications of ongoing virtual meetings.

 Some members of the Green Labs Team within the Discipline of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Human Biology Building at the University of Galway who secured platinum certification from My Green Lab in 2022 for their work ensuring that their research laboratories are run in a sustainable, environmentally friendly manner.