Labs Who Care encourages advocacy for the integration of sustainability practices into all aspects of laboratory life, from operations to research and education, and welcomes everyone, regardless of discipline, location or role.
The Labs Who Care initiative is a movement and a community born from a small idea within the ANFF staff Sustainability Expert Working Group. Our vision is to create a borderless and inclusive network where anyone working in or with laboratories could find inspiration, guidance and support to begin or strengthen their sustainability journey. Whether you’re a lab professional, student, manager, sustainability officer, or part of a university or tertiary institution, you belong here.
In 2025, we are proud to see this network growing. More and more individuals and institutions are recognising the importance of environmentally conscious practices in scientific settings.
Notably, Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS) has recently launched a Lab Sustainability Group, and we are excited to be collaborating closely with ACTS to amplify our shared mission
The 2nd Labs Who Care: Towards Sustainable Laboratories Workshop in November was an opportunity to continue the conversation, share ideas and build momentum together. With participants both Australian and international, the in-person event was sold out with 30 people in attendance and an additional 50 people attending remotely.
The workshop presenters included:
- Rhiannon Boyd (CEO, Australasian Campuses Toward Sustainability) – Certify this: Comparing sustainable lab accreditations
- Nicolas Schuecker-Rush (Merck Life Sciences) – Sustainable solutions for greener research
- Sarah McKibbin (Lund University Nano Lab, Sweden) – Sustainability challenges for nanofabrication labs in Scandinavia
- Katharine Adcroft (University of Melbourne Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery) – Lessons for scaling lab sustainability initiatives from the UK and Europe
- Anita Barry (Monash University School of Translational Medicine) – Single-use plastic waste management in a teaching lab
- Michael Imsic (ANFF-VIC Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication) – Watt’s the impact? Tracking energy use in a large laboratory facility
- Elena Taran (ANFF-VIC UniMelb Materials Characterisation and Fabrication Platform) – Science meets sustainability: Lessons from the MCFP certification journey
Labs Who Care is helping ANFF build a future where laboratories lead in both innovation and sustainability. Together, we can embed sustainable practices into every lab and create a global community committed to responsible science.
To learn more about our sustainability initiatives at ANFF, visit our Sustainable ANFF webpage.
The 2nd Labs Who Care: Towards Sustainable Laboratories Workshop was held on 10 November 2025.
Posted: 11 December 2025