Bristol becomes first university to hit milestone for sustainable laboratories

The certification recognises practical improvements in lab operations, covering areas such as cold storage efficiency, fume cupboard management, shared equipment use, sustainable procurement, and waste reduction

Press release issued: 25 June 2025

The University of Bristol has become the first institution globally to certify all of its laboratories at Silver level through the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF)—a landmark achievement in the journey toward more sustainable research practices.

Spanning nearly 1,000 laboratory spaces across Schools and Faculties, this milestone reflects years of coordinated effort between technical staff, researchers, and sustainability leads, as well as the student-led Green Labs Project Officers, who coordinated and audited the programme across the University.

School Sustainability Officers also played a vital role, supporting implementation and engagement at the local level, with several Schools achieving 100% Gold certification through their leadership.

“Sustainability is no longer an optional extra in research—it’s part of excellence,” said Anna Lewis, Sustainable Science Manager at the University of Bristol.

“We’re proud to be the first university in the world to certify every lab at Silver level, but we’re even more excited by what this enables: better research, lower emissions, and compliance with funder expectations. It’s the foundation for long-term transformation.”

This work supports Bristol’s delivery against the Concordat for Environmental Sustainability of Research and responds to increasing expectations from major funders. Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK, and UKRI now explicitly call for sustainability to be considered in research proposals and delivery. LEAF provides a recognised mechanism to evidence such efforts during grant application and review.

LEAF also plays a central role in the GW4 LEAN (Laboratory Efficiency Action Network) project, funded through the GW4 Generator Fund. This cross-institutional initiative brings together the universities of Bristol, Bath, Cardiff, and Exeter to share best practice, coordinate training, and accelerate the uptake of sustainable lab frameworks. The Generator Fund recognised LEAF as a key lever for change in laboratory environments, with Bristol’s 100% Silver achievement providing a model for regional and national replication.

Looking ahead, Bristol will continue operating LEAF, aiming for Gold level, further align it with internal procurement, digital, and estates systems, and share learning across the GW4 and LEAN networks to help other institutions follow suit.

“This shows what’s possible when researchers, technicians, and sustainability professionals work in partnership,” said Anna Lewis. “We’ve proven that culture change is achievable at scale. The next step is to make this the norm across the sector.”