Green Gown Awards 2016 – Facilities and Services – King’s College London - Highly Commended

Green labs in King’s College London

King’s College London have spearheaded a Green Labs programme which has not only led to significant energy savings, it has also improved science.

This programme has been two-pronged between awards driven user-engagement, and estates led projects. Benefits include £100,000 annual savings in electricity and water though extend beyond with reduced wash times and heat loads, improved environment and engagement, and sustainable procurement practices.

User-engagement was predominantly via our 2016 Lab Awards with 15 research groups participating in the programme. This not only formalised good practice but galvanised participants, culminating in a final ceremony led by our principal. Furthermore sustainability is now growing in its integration with future planning of research facilities – hopefully this can serve as an example for similar institutions growing their research facilities.

Top 3 learnings

1 Improving the sustainability of laboratories doesn’t just reduce energy consumption, it also brings down overall research costs and improves the environment for workers

2 There is a great desire from scientists and facilities management alike to work better together, and to improve their services

3 Full integration of sustainability and science is seamless – i.e. sustainability doesn’t need to stand out, and should appear as vital to the science itself.

CO2t Savings: 125 tonnes      
Actual/Estimated: Estimated
No. of yrs: Annually over 10yrs

Videos

• Laboratory Sustainability Champions: Embedding sustainability into scientific research (click to hide)