Green Labs for improving environmental sustainability. What are the Priorities of Medical Laboratories in switching to Green and Sustainable Labs?

Prof. Dr Tomris Ozben, EuSpLM, Ph.D., D.Sc., Specialist in Medical Biochemistry

IFCC, President

EFLM, Past-President (current)

Akdeniz University, Medical Faculty, Dept. of Medical Biochemistry, Antalya Turkey

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Medical Faculty, Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Ph.D. Program, Modena, Italy

Laboratory medicine should contribute to a sustainable healthcare system ensuring that resources are used efficiently from ecological, social, and economical perspectives, while providing high-quality services to patients and physicians. It will be a challenge for clinical laboratories to achieve sustainable operations. Clinical laboratories use more energy and water than offices and generate huge amounts of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes every year. Clinical laboratories can limit their environmental impact and provide sustainable laboratory services making reductions in four key areas—energy consumption, water consumption, waste production, and use of hazardous chemicals. Establishing sustainable development goals and applying multiple means for reductions in these key areas, clinical laboratories can reduce their environmental impact. By being mindful of the environmental impact of everyday actions in a lab, and by taking steps to minimize energy, water, and hazardous chemical use, as well as waste generation, a clinical lab can be transformed into a safe, sustainable space. Sustainability measures should be a key feature in the rapidly changing healthcare environment to reduce their negative impacts on the environment and economy. Laboratory medicine community should lead the shift to carbon neutrality by decreasing their deleterious environmental impact and implementing efficient approaches to address the effects of climate change and pollution without compromising the quality of healthcare. To provide high-quality, effective, and safe healthcare services, sustainable healthcare systems need to overcome major economic and social challenges. Though there will be initial capital costs, there is a long-term cost-saving potential of a more efficient use of energy and other resources in healthcare systems. Despite this, there is a long way to go for environment-friendly hospitals, healthcare structures, and clinical laboratories to become the norm. Good collaboration among the healthcare systems and a common vision for future actions would help to achieve such goals.