Kristen Richards, global manager of sustainability at Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, discusses how the topic of sustainability is driving a global conversation that continues to get louder as more companies and governments strive to enact far-reaching and achievable goals.
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In the United States, government leaders have set a goal to reach 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by the year 2035.
The life sciences industry is also taking action to ensure a healthier environment, from instrument creators to laboratory staff who are on the frontlines of cutting-edge research and diagnostics. As a part of Danaher Corporation, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences places a strong emphasis on sustainability in all that we do, from product development to product output. Danaher recently committed to set science-based reduction targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), including a long-term target to reach net-zero value chain emissions by no later than 2050.
A crucial component of reaching net-zero emissions is thinking about a product’s end-of-life. As laboratory equipment reaches the end of its useful life span, it may be surprising how many of the components can be recycled and begin a new chapter in their utility. In 2023, Beckman Coulter collected 1,167,900 pounds of metal that can be repurposed. To put that in perspective, that’s the weight equivalent of 353 midsize cars!
The concept of a circular economy is becoming increasingly important as businesses and society grapple with climate change, pollution, and the constraints of finite resources. Put simply, a circular economy aims to eliminate waste and pollution, keep materials in use, and restore nature. As part of this, the life sciences industry needs to move toward more circularity in scientific plastics, which involves using plastics efficiently and transitioning to a closed-loop system where plastic retains its value—keeping it in the supply chain instead of polluting the environment. For example, certain laboratory workflows can benefit from using acoustic sound energy to remove the traditional boundaries of tip- and pin tool-based liquid handlers, reducing the need for pipette tips.
When pipette tips are necessary, scientists can examine their workflows to identify areas where tips can be washed or reused without risk of contamination, such as when prepping media. There may also be opportunities to use only a portion of the pipette tips in a box. Instruments that can be programmed for on-deck washing and partial tip box use can help scientists use tips efficiently in a way that becomes a seamless part of the workflow.
For plastic that must be used, new options are emerging that can recycle and recover the value of that material. While part of the responsibility lies with lab managers to conscientiously dispose of their plastic waste, manufacturers must also take responsibility for their products’ end-of-life and find ways to “close the loop” by incorporating recycled material into their manufacturing. Collaborations between manufacturers, end users in labs, and closed-loop recycling solutions can accelerate this transformation to a lower-carbon life sciences industry.
As Beckman Coulter Life Sciences continues seeking alternatives for liquid handling automation plastics, the company recently partnered with Polycarbin to help divert these resources from landfills and incinerators so they can be turned back into low-carbon lab consumables.
Laboratory automation already plays a crucial role in sustainability. At Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, we commonly hear about lab staff getting caught up in gruelling manual workflows that not only cause them physical strain, but can also create a huge opportunity for errors and even contamination. One wrong move in manual pipetting can mean an entire tray must be discarded—wasting precious resources and time. Automation creates the opportunity for both faster workflows and resource efficiency—allowing staff to focus more on their pioneering research instead of monotonous and often inconsistent manual steps.
As laboratories and companies prepare for a net-zero carbon future, a top-to-bottom workflow examination can begin the critical conversation about eliminating waste—time, resources, and carbon—to conserve precious resources and move toward circularity throughout the field of life sciences. These conversations can also bring into focus pain points for laboratory staff, to both ensure their safety and help them avoid burnout from gruelling manual steps–freeing them to focus on the research at hand. Companies like Beckman Coulter Life Sciences are happy to partner with laboratories to review steps line-by-line and provide customisable solutions to help them achieve their goals in a sustainable way.