Lab Innovations, the UK’s only trade show dedicated to the laboratory industry, will have a new focus this year on the increasingly important aspect of the ‘Sustainable Laboratory’. It takes place on 31 October and 1 November 2018 at the NEC, Birmingham, where attendees will be able to visit the new Sustainable Laboratory area to see and discuss the latest developments in environmentally-friendly products. The sustainable initiatives theme is also a core topic running through the agendas in both the Royal Society of Chemistry theatre and the ‘Insights and Innovations’ theatre run by Laboratory News.
“If every laboratory achieved more sustainable practices, in the UK alone we’d be saving hundreds of millions in costs every year. Funding would go further, research could grow and our impact upon the environment would be reduced,” explains Andy Evans, Green Light Laboratories, who is overseeing the new Sustainable Laboratory area. “Any organisation can easily improve their laboratory sustainability. At the exciting new area, visitors to Lab Innovations 2018 will be shown how improvements in technology, procurement and best practice can reduce running costs while safeguarding the science.”
The Innovations 2018 conference in the Royal Society of Chemistry theatre will focus on the environment. Here, speakers from Tradebe toxic waste disposal and Bio Bean Biochemistry will talk about their approaches to help reuse, recycle, or at least safely dispose of waste.
Visitors to the main exhibition will also discover new environmentally-friendly products and examples of sustainable techniques on exhibitor stands. For example, laboratories can use three to five times more energy than an equivalent office space, so manufacturers have been working hard to develop equipment that uses less electricity and is more environment friendly. One area involves use of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting instead of fluorescent lighting inside plant growth and stability cabinets.
“By working closely with our scientific advisory board, exhibitors and other industry experts, Lab Innovations 2018 will give visitors a well-rounded overview of the possibilities and opportunities of sustainable laboratory practices and environmentally-friendly products,” said Alison Willis, Divisional Director, Lab Innovations.