# How to make your lab work more sustainable using the ECOMAPPING(TM) method
**URL:** https://network.greenyourlab.org/t/how-to-make-your-lab-work-more-sustainable-using-the-ecomapping-tm-method/972
**Category:** Green Lab
**Created:** [March 8, 2022, 4:27am UTC](https://network.greenyourlab.org/t/how-to-make-your-lab-work-more-sustainable-using-the-ecomapping-tm-method/972 "2022-03-08T04:27:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@GreenYourLab](https://network.greenyourlab.org/u/GreenYourLab)
#### Post date: [March 8, 2022, 4:27am UTC](https://network.greenyourlab.org/t/how-to-make-your-lab-work-more-sustainable-using-the-ecomapping-tm-method/972/1 "2022-03-08T04:27:06Z")
\*\*Organised by: \*\* @NIUB
\*\*Date/Time: \*\* 2022-03-22T15:00:00Z→2022-03-22T16:00:00Z
\*\*Location: \*\* Online
\*\*Description: \*\* Laboratory work is resource and cost intensive: a laboratory building consumes three to five times as much energy as a normal office building, a -80°C freezer requires as much energy as a single family home or even more per year and research laboratories generated an estimated 5.5 million tons of plastic waste worldwide in 2015.
There are a lot of tips and checklists how to make your lab work more sustainable. BUT: every lab is different. A tip might be useful for one group but not for another. Focusing on a good freezer management is helpful for a molecular biology group but not necessarily for an analytical chemistry group.
That’s where EcomappingTM steps in[\*](https://niub-nachhaltigkeitsberatung.de/en/webinar/#Information). With this method, you take a close look at your own **environmental impact** in the lab, identify **potential for improvement** on site, and create your **individual action plan**.
[\*\*Link: \*\*](https://niub-nachhaltigkeitsberatung.de/en/webinar/)
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### Author:  [@system](https://network.greenyourlab.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2022, 6:56am UTC](https://network.greenyourlab.org/t/how-to-make-your-lab-work-more-sustainable-using-the-ecomapping-tm-method/972/4 "2022-03-22T06:56:48Z")
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### Author:  [@Fanny](https://network.greenyourlab.org/u/Fanny)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2022, 2:52am UTC](https://network.greenyourlab.org/t/how-to-make-your-lab-work-more-sustainable-using-the-ecomapping-tm-method/972/5 "2022-03-23T02:52:17Z")
Really fantastic Webinar today. Thank you @NIUB for such an informative session.
Here are some resources Kerstin sent out. I hope it’s ok with her that I post them here for everyone’s benefit.
**Read about the ecomapping method:**
> **[ECOMAPPING (TM) – an easy method to make your lab work more sustainable](https://towardsgreenresearch.wordpress.com/2022/03/01/ecomapping-tm-an-easy-method-to-make-your-lab-work-more-sustainable/)**
>
> When I was asked to give a short presentation at the Winter Meeting in December 2021, I was very delighted to have the opportunity to talk about the ECOMAPPINGTM-method. This method provides an eas…
**Links from the presentation:**
Plastic waste study: [https://doi.org/10.1038/528479c](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/10/research-labs-plastic-waste)
Waste by RT-PCR-tests: [Plastic residues produced with confirmatory testing for COVID-19: Classification, quantification, fate, and impacts on human health - ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720376981?via%3Dihub)
Carbon Footprint through bioinformatics: [The carbon footprint of bioinformatics](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.08.434372v1)
Study by the university of Harvard about energy consumption at their university: [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12053-016-9503-2](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12053-016-9503-2)
Study from California about “Market Assessment of Energy Efficiency Opportunities in Laboratories”:
> **[ceel\_market\_assessment\_et14pge7591.pdf](https://www.etcc-ca.com/sites/default/files/reports/ceel_market_assessment_et14pge7591.pdf)**
>
> 7.33 MB
Study about a microbiology lab at the university of Edinburgh: A case report: insights into reducing plastic waste in a microbiology laboratory
> **[A case report: insights into reducing plastic waste in a microbiology...](https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/acmi/10.1099/acmi.0.000173)**
>
> Single-use plastics have often replaced more sustainable materials in microbiology laboratories. Keeping in mind that one of the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is responsible consumption and production, we wanted to...
Information about ACT: [https://act.mygreenlab.org/act-database.html](https://act.mygreenlab.org/act-database.html)
Information about EGNATON CERT can be found in this brochure (p 6): [https://www.chemanager-online.com/restricted-files/173845](https://www.chemanager-online.com/restricted-files/173845)
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### Author:  [@NIUB](https://network.greenyourlab.org/u/NIUB)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2022, 7:30am UTC](https://network.greenyourlab.org/t/how-to-make-your-lab-work-more-sustainable-using-the-ecomapping-tm-method/972/6 "2022-03-23T07:30:02Z")
Thanks @Fanny for your feedback and of course you can post all the information! It is open to everyone 😀
If there are any questions regarding the ECOMAPPING method or to another topic, please feel free to come back to me. Best, Kerstin
PS: I will surely repeat this webinar - so if you’re interested, just drop me an email and I’ll inform you (and if it is okay, I’ll post it again here)