Today marks World Environment Day, which aims to engage governments, businesses and citizens in an effort to address pressing environmental issues.
While many of us are finding positive ways to become more environmentally conscious at home, it’s also possible at work too! At CoolLED, we take sustainability seriously and are constantly striving to reduce our environmental impact, which we achieve not just in the office but also with our LED Microscope Illumination Systems.
With almost 40% of energy at university campuses being used by laboratories, scientists can make a big impact by adopting sustainable lab technology.
LED Microscopy illumination for the sustainable lab
Adopting LED illuminators for microscopes to replace mercury or metal halide lamps can help laboratories become more sustainable in two main ways:
- Saving energy: A microscope LED light source is much more energy efficient. In addition, instant on/off operation means that, unlike lamps, they do not need to be left on all day, saving even more energy.
- Becoming mercury-free: Mercury is toxic, damaging wildlife populations as it passes through the food chain and gradually accumulates in tissue. Increased awareness means it is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to dispose of old lamps, and mercury is now even banned in some countries.
Over time, this LED microscope lighting even saves money! Although the upfront cost is higher to switch to LED illuminators for microscopes, the long-term cost is lower and a saving of £30,000 could be made (read our third party report from Green Light Laboratories).
Financial support
Many institutions offer “Green Grants” to support the purchase of energy-efficient equipment. If you want to find out more about the sustainable benefits, watch this interview from Anna Lewis, Sustainable Science Manager from the University of Bristol:
Another way we are helping to bring sustainability to fluorescence microscopy is through our popular pE-300 Series, which is certified by the My Green Lab ACT Label. ACT stands for Accountability, Consistency and Transparency. It is like an ‘eco-nutrition label’ for lab products, providing information about the environmental impact of manufacturing, using, and disposing of a product and its packaging.
This year, we even achieved managed to reduce our impact from rom 47.2 to 38.2! You can learn more about the ACT Label here.