Sustainable research practices

Many scientific projects at FSE have a strong link with sustainability contentwise, but laboratory work often produces a large amount of waste, and lab equipment requires a lot of energy. Labs use about 10 times more energy and four times more water than office spaces of the same size.

The FSE Green Labs group consists of passionate scientists and students, who are working on improving sustainability in laboratories.

One of their projects is the LEAF programme, which is used to reduce waste, energy and water usage in laboratories. LEAF stands for Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework. The tool calculates how labs can save water, waste, energy and money. Then, based on the actual savings made, the labs are awarded bronze, silver or gold certificates. The LEAF toolkit is used worldwide, by at least 85 institutions. At the Faculty, almost 50 labs have now been awarded a LEAF certificate, and the numbers are growing fast.

The Kapteyn Astronominal Institute is conducting cutting edge research into understanding our universe, but they are also not afraid to look at their own carbon footprint critically.

Professor Floris van der Tak, together with other researchers from the Netherlands Council of Astronomy, estimated the CO2 emissions of astronomical research in the Netherlands (in 2019).

The emission of the six institutes together is about 4900 tonnes per year, or about 5 tonnes per researcher. The main sources of CO2 are air travel (42%), electricity use (29%), and heating of buildings (15%). Commuting and the use of supercomputers contribute less, with 10% and 4% respectively.

The new Feringa Building is a wonderful addition to our Faculty - and it will eventually replace the energy inefficient Nijenborgh 4 building, which means there will be a big reduction in energy usage.

Sustainability is a high priority for the Feringa Building. The building is aiming for the BREEAM-NL ‘Very Good’ level at the very least, but is more intent on attaining an ‘Excellent’ label. Thermal comfort, plenty of natural daylight and energy performance are crucial aspects in this respect.

In 2022, the 'FSE is going green' programma was launched at the Faculty. Several working groups have been formed, consisting of staff and students. The topics are based on an internal assessment of the most pressing sustainability issues within the Faculty - and ideas from staff and students.

Examples of working groups are: sustainable canteens and events, travel behaviour of staff, greening our grounds and sustainable logistics. Their efforts have already resulted in a sustainable canteen pilot, improved building insulation, a growing movement of sustainable laboratories and advice about staff air travel reduction, based on a Faculty-wide survey.