Sustainable Lab Awards

Welcome to the Lab Awards! The Lab Awards are a part of the Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability (SRS Department) Sustainability Awards programme, which also includes the Changemaker Awards. 

The Lab Awards are open to teams of staff from any University department, school, unit, centre with a lab presence. Teams work together to improve sustainability in their workplace, basing their efforts on the Labs Criteria. 

To increase efficiency, we ask that new teams are formed at a school / department / building level. Not only does this increase the impact of the award, but supports sharing of best practice and resources locally. 

Teams can join and complete their application at any time of the year, and will be assessed then accredited on a rolling basis. Peer auditing helps to ensure that departments meet the sustainability standards set out in the criteria framework and facilitates sharing of best practice and innovation. 

There are many reasons to participate in the Lab Awards:

• The three Lab Award levels provide a framework for incremental development and longer-term sustainability. Teams will continuously improve by progressing through the scheme.
• The Lab Awards recognise departments that have established good value, resource efficient business processes.
• Teams will have access to support and advice from the SRS Department throughout the year.
• The Lab Awards are a fantastic opportunity for staff to develop leadership and teamwork skills by working as a team with colleagues.
• Participants have opportunities to learn from and network with other teams from around the University, including mentorship.
• Departments will gain a sustainability accreditation which helps demonstrate commitment and action to funding bodies.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, were adopted by the United Nations and world leaders in 2015. By 2030, the SDGs aim to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) developed the Sustainable Development Goal Accord (SDGa), which the University of Edinburgh has signed up to. Through its research, learning and teaching, operations and community of staff, students and alumni, the University is committed to delivering these Goals with partners, including the Students' Association, both locally and globally. Contributing to the SDGs is a key part of the Social and Civic Responsibility focus within the University’s Strategy 2030.

The Sustainability Awards encourage action on a range of environmental and social issues, and each Awards criterion links to one of the 17 SDGs. These links are detailed in the Labs Criteria 2023-24 document, and you can learn more about each SDG here. By participating in the Sustainability Awards, you and your team will be directly contributing to helping achieve the SDGs.

The EAUC have collated further examples of how the SDGs can be embedded within Higher and Further Education institutions.

Join a network of staff and students making the University of Edinburgh more sustainable by developing skills to lead positive change in your area of work.

The Sustainability Champions Network offers opportunities to increase your sustainability knowledge, gain professional and personal development, help empower others, attend events, and make your voice heard.

We highly recommend that at least one member of the Awards team join the network.

To receive a Lab Award teams must meet criteria set out across nine categories:

Teams can work towards a Lab Award at Bronze, Silver or Gold level.

Additionally, to recognise the valuable experience of existing teams, those who have previously participated have the option of mentoring another team.

• Bronze: Bronze level recognises teams that follow good practice and have made efforts to raise awareness of sustainability amongst staff. There are a total of 15 Bronze criteria of which 13 should be met in order to receive a Bronze Lab Award, unless teams can demonstrate that certain criteria are not applicable to them.
• Silver: Silver level recognises teams that have gone further to promote a culture of sustainability by establishing resource efficient procedures and environmentally-friendly ways of working, and have made efforts to engage with staff. There are a total of 19 Silver criteria, 16 of which should be met in order to receive a Silver Lab Award, unless teams can demonstrate that certain criteria are not applicable to them. Teams applying for Silver should also demonstrate that they are compliant with Bronze level.
• Gold: Gold level recognises exemplary teams that demonstrate and actively develop best practice in lab sustainability. There are a total of 27 Gold criteria, 21 of which should be met in order to receive a Gold Lab Award, unless teams can demonstrate that certain criteria are not applicable to them. Teams applying for Gold should also demonstrate that they are compliant with Silver level.

NOTE: Some labs may find that a number of criteria are not relevant to them e.g. they have no cold storage equipment, or do not use fume cupboards. In these instances teams would not be expected to complete any non-applicable criteria. The team would still be able to drop the same number of criteria as other teams applying for an award at the same level (i.e. 1 in Bronze, 2 in Silver and 3 in Gold). Additionally, some criteria are optional e.g. mentoring, and are not required to complete a level.

If you think a level has a large number of not applicable criteria, a lab walk around/discussion will be offered to confirm the Award level’s suitability and if alternative criteria could be undertaken. Please get in touch to discuss further (lab.awards@ed.ac.uk​​​​​).

This opportunity will allow teams who have completed an award to offer support to another team who are completing their chosen level for the first time. Teams are able to mentor others of the same or lower level to them e.g. Bronze teams may mentor new Bronze teams, Silver teams may mentor Silver or Bronze, and Gold may mentor at any level.

To be eligible to mentor, your team must have achieved an award within the last two years. Mentorship will not replace participating in a Bronze/Silver/Gold level but would be undertaken as an additional achievement.

As the nature of mentorship is highly variable and unique to each partnership, there are a limited number of specific actions to complete other than the following:

• Mentors and Mentees to Communicate at least monthly with each other
• Attend each others sustainability committee meetings where feasible
• Undertake visits to each other’s workplaces
• Provide a case study on their experience (e.g. written, video, other format)

Mentoring teams should also arrange to hold an informal Sustainability Open Day for their mentees or the wider University community, to highlight their successes and challenges.

Visits may be in person or virtual, as most appropriate.

Teams are assessed to ensure they have met the sustainability criteria. This involves reviewing evidence submitted online and an audit of the lab.

• Submitting evidence online: Teams are asked to submit details of some departmental procedures and activities to our Sharepoint platform in advance of their audit. Assessors will review the evidence and request more information if necessary. Submitting evidence to the online platform is not mandatory for any criteria but is strongly encouraged as it speeds up the audit and serves as a useful record. However, it is recognised that for certain criteria it is easier to demonstrate compliance during an audit. Evidence can be transferred over from year to year on the online platform, which can be a useful way to save time where there has been little or no change.
• Face-to-face audit: Some activities are easier to explain in person or are difficult / time consuming to evidence online, particularly at Silver and Gold level. We therefore undertake face-to-face audits of all teams. This is an opportunity to discuss teams’ accomplishments, challenges and future aspirations in more detail. A typical audit lasts around two hours.
• Auditors: The audit will be conducted by a representative of the SRS Department and a peer auditor from another participating team. Where teams are being audited for a higher level (silver/gold) the audit will include some elements of the lower level(s) but will focus mainly on the higher level criteria.

We aim to notify Teams of their assessment within two weeks, but this may be extended during busy periods.  We will include confirmation of the Lab Award level received and a report with more detailed feedback.

NOTE: If auditing the lab in person is not possible, a virtual audit will be arranged. In such circumstances, providing evidence on the online platform will be particularly helpful.

Each Lab Awards level differs in the amount of commitment typically required from teams:

• Bronze: Bronze level recognises departments/labs that follow good practice and have made efforts to raise awareness of sustainability amongst staff and are following basic good practices for lab management and health & safety. New Bronze teams often find that their department already meets many of the Bronze criteria, so working towards a Bronze Lab Award is a matter of gathering evidence for existing activities and filling in the gaps. Participation can be coordinated by 1 staff member from the department but we would encourage colleagues to work together as a team!
• Silver: Silver level recognises departments/labs that have established sustainable procedures and ways of working, and have made efforts to engage with staff. New Silver teams will likely find that their department meets some, but not all, of the Silver criteria. It’s easiest to complete Silver if colleagues work together as a team.
• Gold: Successful Gold teams have significant engagement from the wider department/lab. Gold participants are required to meet a number of challenging criteria which will require the support of the whole team.
• Mentoring: Teams who would like to mentor another team will be involved in offering support and advice to their mentees. To successfully share experiences and knowledge, it is recommended that mentorship is offered as a team effort rather than from one individual. The time commitment will vary depending on the level of award being sought, but we would expect at least monthly contact between teams including visits.

Although the Lab Awards are aimed at staff, teams are strongly encouraged to involve students where possible, to ensure their feedback and ideas are taken into consideration.

Teams can opt-in to access support and advice from the SRS Department throughout the year. This includes:

• An initial meeting to discuss the Awards in detail.
• Invitations to any joint networking events with other Sustainability Awards teams. A chance to meet other Lab Awards teams, share best practice and hear inspiring case studies.
• Optional baseline audits to provide an indication of progress against targets.
• Professional development opportunities, including opportunities to take part in peer auditing.
• Training opportunities
• A Sharepoint online platform enabling teams to track their accomplishments and store evidence.
• Resources and templates to help teams complete criteria.
• A digital certificate and graphics for use on social media and email signatures to demonstrate your achievement.
• An audit report highlighting achievements and areas for improvement.

The Lab Awards are updated annually, and run on a rolling basis. Teams are welcome to join and complete their submission at any point in the year.

Next Steps

• Returning teams: Due to resourcing changes, the Lab Awards are now managed by colleagues across the Department of Social Responsibility and Sustainability. We aim to send out reminders to all current lab award holders as their award comes up for renewal.
• New teams: New or interested teams should contact us directly: lab.awards@ed.ac.uk to register interest. In the meantime, it would be helpful to:

1. Speak to your colleagues about forming a team​​ - whether this is at a building, institution, or school / department level
2. Secure support for participating in the Lab Awards from senior managers
3. Look through the Labs Criteria document to determine current status against the criteria