The ATU Galway City campus has been awarded an international sustainability certification for cutting down on consumption of energy and more.
The My Green Lab certification was awarded for the work done by staff and students in making all teaching science laboratories on campus more sustainable.
My Green Lab is recognised in the United Nations’ Race to Zero campaign as a key achievement in working towards a zero-carbon future.
It rewards a reduction in energy usage, water consumption, and the amount of plastic used in the labs.
President of ATU Dr Orla Flynn said, “Sustainability is very much to the fore in ATU and the My Green Lab certification reflects the hard work of our staff and students in addressing sustainability goals on our campuses.”
To achieve this certificate, a baseline assessment was conducted in 2021, after which a dedicated team of staff and students worked towards improving laboratory practices.
This was carried out in all the teaching laboratories across ATU Galway-Mayo’s School of Science & Computing.
Aileen Gill, green labs and chemistry technician at ATU Galway City gave the example that5 they have cut single-use plastic cuvettes by 75% following a pilot study on reusing them without affecting experiments.
Dr Mark Kelly, Head of Centre for Sustainability at ATU Galway-Mayo, added “Many staff and students have been involved in the project over the past year providing broad perspectives on how to make lab practices more sustainable.”
“Strong support from management and the community that has developed are further driving forces behind the success of the project”.
