The Decisions That Define Your Lab’s Environmental Footprint
How purchasing workflows, product selection, and supplier practices shape laboratory sustainability
When discussing lab sustainability, conversations often focus on waste: what is discarded, how it is disposed of, and how much is produced. However, treating sustainability primarily as a waste management issue is a reactive approach.
Sustainability begins upstream, rooted in procurement strategy and operational planning. By rethinking how purchases are made, what is purchased, and which vendors you partner with, lab managers can proactively reduce their footprint.
This article walks through each of these decision points, offering guidance to help you identify where meaningful improvements can be made without compromising research integrity, inflating budgets, or disrupting day-to-day operations.
How are purchases and inventory managed?
In many labs, purchasing authority is distributed across multiple team members with limited visibility into stock levels r pending orders. This lack of coordination can lead to two costly extremes: under-ordering and over-ordering.
Consider this scenario: A researcher notices that a shared reagent is running low but assumes a colleague has already placed the order. If others make the same assumption, the reorder may be missed entirely, leaving the lab without a critical material. What should have been a routine restock becomes a rush order—often at a higher cost and requiring expedited shipping that increases the product’s footprint.
Now imagine both researchers decide to order the low-stock item. In this case, the lab receives duplicate shipments, sometimes on separate delivery trucks, along with surplus inventory that may expire before it’s used.
These situations are symptoms of larger process gaps. Tracking a few simple metrics—such as the number of rush orders per month, the number of staff authorized to place orders, the number of deliveries received each week, and the percentage of inventory that expires before use—can reveal areas for improvement. For example, frequent rush orders may indicate poor inventory visibility, while expired inventory may suggest a lack of coordinated or intentional purchasing.
Management actions
Once these patterns are understood, managers can implement targeted improvements:
• Centralize ordering: Assign purchasing responsibility to one or a small group of individuals with clearly defined roles. Where full centralization isnot feasible, implement a centralized approval process. Clear ownership improves oversight, reduces duplicate orders, and simplifies purchasing administration.
• Optimize order volume: Purchase frequently used items in bulk and consolidate orders, both within or across labs, to reduce shipment frequency and packaging waste
• Actively manage inventory: Implement an inventory management system to improve visibility into supply levels and usage patterns. Establish first-in, first-out practices to ensure older stock is used first, minimizing expiration-related waste.
• Share resources: Redistribute surplus or unneeded supplies across teams or departments to prevent viable materials from becoming waste
What gets purchased?
The products a lab purchases directly dictate the volume and type of waste it generates. To understand exactly how much waste is being produced, lab managers should perform a waste audit. “A waste audit is one of the most effective places to start. It shows exactly which processes generate the most waste, so sustainability efforts can be targeted where they matter most,” shares Antoine Claux, Strategy Deployment Leader, Business Partnerships & Sustainability, Corning Life Sciences.
To perform a waste audit, designate and label containers for each waste subcategory (e.g., gloves, pipette tips, plastic packaging). After a defined period, measure and record the volume or weight of waste generated in each category. For high-volume waste streams, evaluate whether alternatives exist that are reusable, recyclable, or designed to reduce material use. These targeted reductions can deliver measurable results. In one study, a research group that implemented reduction and reuse strategies reduced lab waste by 43 kg over four weeks.
Management actions
With audit data in hand, lab managers can prioritize replacing high-impact consumables with more sustainable alternatives.
• Implement reusable materials: Replacing single-use items with reusable alternatives can greatly reduce waste. Durable glassware, such as PYREX® laboratory glassware, can serve as a long-lasting substitute for certain disposable plastics in many applications. Before transitioning, however, labs should evaluate operational considerations, including contamination risk, workflow compatibility, and the time and resources required for cleaning, sterilization, or decontamination.
• Optimize single-use: When single-use products are necessary, labs can still reduce impact by evaluating product design. Some suppliers offer consumables made with recycled content or designs that reduce overall plastic use, such as the Axygen® HybridRack™ pipette tips and U-shaped cell culture flasks from Corning.
• Evaluate product packaging: Packaging often represents a substantial portion of laboratory waste. Look for products with reduced or recyclable packaging, as well as designs that minimize mixed materials or simplify separation to reduce disposal complexity.
• Improve waste segregation: Ensure staff understand what can and cannot be recycled, and how to segregate waste correctly. Clear signage at the point of disposal, combined with structured training and continuing education, helps reinforce best practices.
Who are you purchasing from?
The environmental footprint of a product begins long before it arrives in your lab. By evaluating who you purchase from, not just what you purchase, lab managers can influence environmental impact across the full product lifecycle. As Claux notes, “Who you buy from can be just as important as what you buy. Choosing a supplier is about building long-term partnerships, so you want to select a company that is committed to continuous improvement and shares your sustainability goals.”
Management actions
To assess and compare suppliers, lab managers can incorporate the following considerations into procurement evaluations:
• Manufacturing practices: Look for evidence of energy-efficient or low-emission production, formal environmental management systems (EMSs) with ISO 14001 certification, and documented efforts to reduce waste or greenhouse gas emissions. Third-party ratings, such as EcoVadis medals, can provide additional context on a supplier’s environmental impact.
• Transparency and accountability: Request documentation supporting sustainability claims. Look for clearly defined environmental targets aligned with recognized frameworks, like the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), and third-party certifications, such as the My Green Lab® ACT® Ecolabel.
• End-of-life responsibility: Consider whether suppliers offer take-back or recycling programs. Since its launch in 2016, Corning’s recycling program for pipette tip racks and lids, centrifuge tube Styrofoam racks, and select packaging has diverted over 180,000 pounds of plastic.
• Long-term partnership potential: Sustainability priorities continue to evolve. Selecting vendors that demonstrate continuous improvement and a commitment to environmental stewardship helps ensure your procurement strategy remains aligned with future goals.
Corning as a sustainable partner
Corning integrates design-for-sustainability principles across product development, manufacturing, and end-of-life planning to reduce environmental impact.
Through the Corning EcoChoice™ program, the company identifies products that adhere to US FTC guidelines. These products are supported by traceable, evidence-based environmental claims and meet defined criteria for recycled content, source reduction, efficiency, and renewable energy use. Design updates have reduced material use across key product lines. Corning’s U-shaped cell culture flasks reduce plastic use by 23 percent in 75 cm² formats and 30 percent in 150 cm² formats. The Axygen HybridRack uses 70 percent less plastic than standard tip racks and is ACT Label certified to ensure accountability and transparency.
At the operational level, Corning maintains EMSs across its manufacturing facilities, with sites either ISO 14001 certified or actively pursuing certification. The company has earned an EcoVadis Gold medal—ranking among the top five percent of companies assessed—received the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award and Sustained Excellence designation, and established science-based carbon-reduction targets approved by the SBTi, with progress reported annually.
As Claux explains, “Corning has been in business for 175 years, so we understand that long-term success depends on protecting the environment we operate in. Sustainability is about ensuring the next 175 years are just as viable.”
