ALS plays a vital role in ensuring that our water and environment is safe but in the process we generate a lot of waste materials. Our new Local Actions - Global Impact initiative is designed to allow us to continue doing what we do, while reducing our carbon footprint, our reliance on single use plastics, and our impact on both the local and global environment.

All the little things add up. It is all too easy to dismiss ideas because their impact will be seemingly negligible on the global scale but it is important to remember that our impact on the environment is additive, and if we all play our part, if we all make an effort to reduce our reliance on plastics and recycle more, if we all reduce our energy consumption, then we can make a real difference.

What we’ve been up to recently:

Rethinking plastic and recycling even more

We introduced a new staff lanyard made from recycled PET bottles. By purchasing recycled products, as well as recycling, we can help close the loop on plastic production.

We improved our recycling processes by introducing new waste streams, recycling even more plastic, cardboard and glass and sending less to landfill. Find out more about this initiative here: https://www.alsenvironmental.co.uk/about-us/news/Reducing-our-environmental-impact_1187

We removed a rubber seal from one of our bottles. Why? Because now we can recycle it and it’s just as safe and equally effective. It is important that we scrutinise our products, policies and procedures to ensure that we’re carrying out our business in the most sustainable way possible.

Reducing our energy usage

We installed a voltage optimisation system. Most of our instruments and appliances don’t need the full 240V provided by the national grid, rather than waste energy we invested a significant sum of money in a system that is predicted to reduce our electricity usage by around 11%.

Following our core value of continuous improvement, we’re always making operational refinements, like making sure equipment is fully utilised. Our Hawarden laboratory has turned off some of our seldom used fume cupboards, for example. This could save as much as 12% electricity every year. The same principle applied at home, if you’re not using something, why leave it on?

We installed a new ‘Triple Switchover Pump’ to move cold water around our Coventry laboratory – it only turns on when the pressure needs boosting. Why have a pump running continuously when it doesn’t need to be?

We’re changing all of our bulbs to LEDs, even laboratory instruments where we can. For example, we’ve replaced toxic mercury containing bulbs with non-toxic LED lighting in some of our microscopes.

A new high capacity incubator has replaced 9 older incubators in our Coventry facility. Unsurprisingly, it uses less energy to keep one room at the correct temperature than it does nine smaller ones. An added benefit is the improvement in quality that stems from more consistent temperature across samples and over time.

All of this and we’re just getting started.

Remember, Local Actions – Global Impact, we can all play a part.