The session was held on October 31 at Hokkaido University inviting Dr. Martin Farley, Green Lab Associates, and UCL’s Sustainability Labs Advisor with 22 participants from in and out of university. Dr. Farley of Green Lab Associates has developed methods to improve sustainability and efficiency of scientific research at several colleges in England.
Dr. Farley explained that research activities are strongly related to social sustainability as he introduced “Reproducibility”. He added that this fact acts as an incentive for him to promote saving of energy and resource in science laboratories. Furthermore, specific efforts he had made as follows were given; Verifying the relations between ultra-freezers’ preset temperature and samples’ state of preservation, and that, establishing a team to promote sorting laboratory waste. He also offered advice for laboratories in Hokkaido University’s Graduate School of Environmental Science and Faculty of Science he had visited a couple of days before, to be good references for energy and resource saving.
Okino Laboratory, Faculty of Environmental Science (left)
Ogawa Laboratory, Faculty of Science (right)
Discussion followed, on incentives for renewing to energy-saving apparatus or high efficiency freezer, the need for guideline to hand over laboratory devices, and keys to successfully build teams to seek / carry out what we can.
Based on these knowledge, Campus Management Committee which set at Sustainable Campus Management Office will be considering effective measures.