{"id":4369,"date":"2025-02-27T15:58:27","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T15:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/?p=4369"},"modified":"2025-05-29T09:08:54","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T08:08:54","slug":"are-you-a-pi-or-wet-lab-user-in-fbmh-leaf-accreditation-required-by-july-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/2025\/02\/27\/are-you-a-pi-or-wet-lab-user-in-fbmh-leaf-accreditation-required-by-july-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you a PI or wet lab user in FBMH? LEAF accreditation required by July 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Faculty has committed to ensuring that\u00a0all<\/b>\u00a0wet laboratories in our Faculty buildings achieve a\u00a0minimum of Bronze LEAF accreditation<\/b>\u00a0by\u00a0July 2025<\/b>.<\/div>\n
The\u00a0Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF)<\/a><\/b>\u00a0is an innovative scheme designed to drive improvements in laboratory efficiency. Currently, 66<\/strong>% of FBMH labs<\/b>\u00a0hold a LEAF accreditation. Each lab must nominate a LEAF Champion\u00a0to lead the award application process.<\/div>\n
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Do you know who your LEAF Champion is?<\/b><\/div>\n
So far, 87% of PIs\u00a0have a LEAF Champion.\u00a0If your wet lab doesn’t have a LEAF Champion, we want to hear from you.<\/b>\u00a0The accreditation process can take a couple of months, so it is vital\u00a0that all unaccredited labs have a LEAF Champion in place as soon as possible. LEAF champions are usually PhD students but can also be a PI if you have a small lab.<\/div>\n
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Why is this important?<\/b><\/div>\n
The University has committed to\u00a0achieving zero carbon emissions\u00a0for Scope 1 and 2 by 2038 and net zero for Scope 3 by 2050<\/a>. Scope 1 and 2 are under our direct influence and account for 10% of our emissions, whereas Scope 3 account for 90% and are much harder to address. To achieve this, we must consider how we operate across all\u00a0University spaces, including laboratories.<\/div>\n
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LEAF is a national sustainable labs accreditation programme adopted by many universities. It is soon to become a compulsory requirement to grants from select funders (e.g. CRUK, Wellcome).\u00a0 It provides a structured framework for wet lab users to assess and improve their environmental performance. The scheme recognises existing best practices and offers a roadmap for further improvements.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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In achieving a LEAF accreditation, labs are taking shared action to reduce negative environmental impacts and emissions and\u00a0transition to sustainable practices. These actions align with the university’s recent\u00a0commitments in signing\u00a0\u00a0the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice<\/a>.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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How to achieve Bronze accreditation<\/b><\/div>\n
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  1. Nominate a LEAF Champion\u00a0to lead the accreditation process for your lab. PIs who share a lab can share a LEAF Champion, but larger labs\u00a0are encouraged to have a LEAF Champion per PI group\u00a0to coordinate efforts.\n