Kingston University receives Royal Society of Chemistry grant to boost sustainability in chemistry laboratories

A new Kingston University initiative aiming to promote environmental sustainability in chemical laboratory research has been awarded funding from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).

The year-long project, led by the School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry Sustainability Lead Dr Gemma Shearman, will see the University develop an app designed to help students and researchers assess and enhance the sustainability of their experiments.

The project will integrate sustainable practices into everyday teaching and research, mirroring the emphasis on health and safety in chemical sciences, and will address the current lack of hands-on sustainability training within research for undergraduate chemical laboratory experiments. 

The grant of almost £10,000 from the RSC will help Kingston’s chemical and pharmaceutical science department develop the user-friendly web app which will allow users to evaluate the environmental impact of their experiments. 

Users of the app input the chemicals used in each experiment, alongside other items such as gloves, equipment and packaging to establish impact levels. This information generates a downloadable sticker summarising the sustainability of the experiment is and how it can be made more environmentally-friendly.

Talking about the need for such an evaluation tool, Dr Shearman said the current protocols in chemistry, which include the completion of a risk assessment and a Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) form, prior to the start of each experiment does not take into account environmental impact. “The evaluation of the sustainability of each practical and how toxic or hazardous chemicals we are using might affect the environment is not addressed,” she said. “The energy efficiency of mechanical equipment is another area that can be examined closely to reduce energy use within the labs.”

Dr Shearman, who is working on the project with Head of Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Dr Baljit Thatti, will be assisted by a recent graduate in the development of the app. The team will build a network of university and industry partners and global chemical science communities who can feed into the construction and testing of the app. 

At the conclusion of the project, the findings and access to the tool will be shared through the creation of a freely accessible webpage under the banner of the RSC to raise awareness, increase global reach and encourage uptake of the product.

“We hope a sustainability assessment will become second nature before starting a chemical experiment in the way a risk assessment or a COSHH is currently,” Dr Shearman said. “At Kingston University we pride ourselves on being sector-leading when it comes to sustainability initiatives and believe our experience in this area will be pivotal to challenging and changing current practices and delivering on the goals of this project.”

• Find out more about studying chemistry at Kingston University.