Four trailblazing groups within Dunn School have become the first to achieve environmental impact accreditation under the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF). This significant achievement comes just before the Departmental Committee Meeting on 14 October 2020, where our Green Group representatives, Dr Ulrike Gruneberg and Professor Anton van der Merwe, will advocate for the adoption of the LEAF framework across the entire department.

The accredited pilot labs include the Molecular Immunology Group, the Raff Lab, the Gruneberg Lab, and the Gluenz Lab. These labs have successfully met the LEAF criteria, which range from 16 for bronze, 32 for silver, and 41 for gold accreditation. The process involves a straightforward assessment, including a 30-minute meeting with an assessor from Oxford’s Environmental Sustainability team.

The Green Group is eager to support all laboratories in the Department in achieving LEAF accreditation. Our ultimate goal is to become the first Department to achieve this and then inspire the entire University to follow suit. The LEAF accreditation has been a source of pride and motivation for all involved. It has spurred us to continue working towards making our labs and the world more environmentally friendly for present and future generations.

As we move forward, we are excited to take on the challenge of pushing for higher levels of accreditation and fostering sustainable practices across all our labs. We believe that together, we can make a significant difference in reducing the environmental impact of our research activities.