LEAF Award Success for Earth Sciences Lab Facilities

We are proud to announce that this year, six Earth Science facilities received a LEAF Award for sustainable laboratories, of which four were certified as gold standard. The LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) awards are an innovative scheme created to drive improvements in laboratory efficiency. Labs across the University undergo self-assessment and peer review. Participants complete a set of criteria to reach Bronze, Silver or Gold standard, and can estimate the carbon and financial savings their actions have achieved. This work is incredibly important, as laboratory buildings are responsible for over 60% of total energy consumption and carbon emissions across the University. 

2024 LEAF Awards at Oxford Earth Sciences

Rickaby & Cosmidis Labs - GOLD AWARD

Lab Manager: Luke Williams 

Luke manages all of the laboratories related to the research carried out by the Oceanbug and Biological Oceanography groups. About the awards process, Luke said "The audits were very interesting, allowing me to see many different systems that I had not thought about before. Achieving Gold was no small feat, however the way the labs are built and the department is run made things much easier. I implemented a lab management system that allowed me to greatly reduce surplus stock and ordering, and by assessing processes carried out in the lab I was able to reduce use of single-use plastics, both of which massively helped in improving lab sustainability and achieving Gold."

Wet Chemistry Lab - GOLD AWARD

Lab Manager: Dr Zheyu (Jerry) Tian

Jerry says of the award "We are proud to have achieved the LEAF Gold award for the Wet Chemistry Lab this year, which reflects our commitment to continuous improvement and environmental responsibility. To reach this goal, we implemented several key initiatives in our laboratory. We established clear waste segregation and signage, ensuring proper waste management. Additionally, we rolled out an energy-saving plan with prominent reminders to encourage mindful energy use. To maintain safety and efficiency, we improved our lab record-keeping and safety policies, while also keeping our workspace clean and organized.

For sustainability, we prioritized the use of non-disposable items wherever possible and promoted recycling. Furthermore, our lab personal protective equipment (PPE) is neatly arranged, available in all sizes, and kept in good condition. These efforts have not only improved our working environment but also advanced our commitment to environmental sustainability."

Oxford Earth Sciences Workshop - GOLD AWARD

Lab Manager: James King

The workshop is focussed on helping internal and external research groups perform ground-breaking research by designing and producing lab and field equipment. They manufacture equipment for lab groups within the Department and University, as well as across the world.

Water Geochemistry & Trace element ICP-MS SRF - GOLD AWARD

Lab Managers: Hilde Cronwright and Phil Holdship

The Water Geochemistry & Trace Metal ICP-MS SRF laboratory is used by the research group under Prof Robert Hilton. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a powerful inorganic technique that resolves the abundance of many chemical elements in a wide variety of sample media, to extremely low detection limits and wide concentration ranges. The instruments are professionally maintained to operate at optimum degrees of accuracy and precision for many elements, both at trace and major concentration levels.

Rock preparation labs - BRONZE AWARD

Lab Manager: Emily Donald

The Geological Facilities resources comprises an eclectic mix of laboratory facilities and equipment, including rock preparation and crushing and thin sectioning. Emily, who took over the role of lab manager in June, said "I am happy to have The Rock Preparation Lab attain LEAF Bronze in the year 23/24, we have done this by critically assessing our methods our policy and the way we induct and conduct ourselves in the laboratory, refining and reducing our waste output is a big step in the right direction. Bronze sets the lab up for Further improvements and the work to refine sustainability practices continues in to a future Silver award submission where I hope to reduce the sources of waste coming into the lab, heading off the waste before it is created. Bronze has given us the framework to run the Laboratory in a Sustainable and efficient manner, and I hope to impress upon those coming into these spaces the need for continued improvement in sustainability."

Clean Suite SRF - BRONZE AWARD

Lab Manager: Jane Barling 

The Clean Suite Facility consists of 10 Class 10,000 metal-free laboratories each fitted with 5 Class 100 laminar flow/exhaust hoods and a fume hood. The facility is used for ultra-clean metal-free preparation of a variety of sample materials for trace metal concentration and high precision trace metal isotope ratio analysis, cleaning of plastics for ultra-clean sample collection and processing and sub-boiling distillation of ultra-pure mineral acids and other laboratory reagents.