Innovation in laboratory products has traditionally been defined by scientific performance—greater sensitivity, faster throughput, higher precision—while environmental impact often remained a secondary consideration. But that definition is evolving as sustainable lab products become more deeply incorporated into product design, manufacturing, and life cycle management, influencing how vendors develop new technologies and how laboratories evaluate them.
The shift reflects growing pressures across laboratories, including sustainability targets, regulatory expectations, and rising operational costs, while manufacturers respond with technologies that promise both performance improvements and reduced environmental impact. For lab managers, these changes are reshaping purchasing decisions, vendor relationships, and long-term operational planning.
Adoption challenges with eco-friendly laboratory products
For laboratories evaluating sustainable lab products in practice, operational realities often shape adoption decisions. Jessica Nanes, laboratory supervisor, and Mary Germain, senior lab analyst, at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, describe the challenges laboratories face when incorporating eco-friendly laboratory products into purchasing decisions.
“One of our biggest barriers is ensuring that sustainable products meet our method requirements and are compatible with our tests,” Nanes and Germain explain. “When we switch consumable products, we usually perform studies to ensure they are equivalent to what we’ve been using. That can be time-consuming and expensive.”
They also note that identifying suitable alternatives can be difficult. “Our lab is just scratching the surface of evaluating sustainable lab products,” they add, noting their lab has obtained My Green Lab certification. “One thing we just started looking into is replacing our consumable products, and it has been time-consuming to find products that are comparable to what we currently use.”
Vendor support can help reduce risk during evaluation. “Any time a vendor can offer a sample of their product or side-by-side comparison data against other products, we [are] thrilled,” Nanes and Germain note. “Samples or money-back guarantees can go a long way, especially when consumable products are sold in bulk. We don’t want to order 500 units of something that we are simply testing to make sure it will work.”
At the same time, innovation itself can create new sustainability challenges. “Most innovative laboratory products I’ve seen focus on decreasing analysis time and are overwhelmingly disposable,” they observe. “It is neat to see these options, but it is disheartening to see how they contribute to the waste stream instead of preventing it.”
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These challenges highlight the need for clearer evaluation tools and more transparent sustainability information from vendors.
Understanding sustainable lab products beyond marketing claims
One of the first challenges lab managers face when prioritizing sustainability in procurement is determining what makes lab products truly sustainable. Highly visible changes, such as packaging adjustments or recycled materials, may represent only a small portion of a product’s overall environmental footprint. A more meaningful evaluation requires understanding multiple factors across manufacturing, energy use, materials, and end-of-life management.
Organizations working to standardize sustainability evaluation are helping address this challenge. Megan Petersen, senior marketing manager at My Green Lab, notes that consistent metrics and third-party verification are essential for meaningful comparisons.
“My Green Lab uses the recently revised ACT Ecolabel Standard to evaluate product sustainability across numerous, measurable attributes that impact the environment, rather than only evaluating single claims and attributes,” Petersen says. “Our approach provides standardized, third-party verified data through certification of products to the ACT Ecolabel Standard.”
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Even with standardized tools, misconceptions about sustainability factors remain common.
“The relative impact of any particular sustainability attribute is often misunderstood,” Petersen adds. “To return to the packaging example, the impact of improvements in packaging are often overemphasized.”
Perceptions about cost can also influence adoption decisions. Sustainability initiatives are sometimes viewed primarily as added expenses rather than operational improvements.
“When sustainability initiatives are (incorrectly) perceived as an added cost rather than a value driver, adoption may be slowed,” Petersen explains. “But … the use of more sustainable lab products and mindful approaches to operations [can] improve the financial bottom line, while also driving innovation.”
This emphasis on transparency and measurable impact reflects a broader movement toward data-driven sustainability decisions rather than reliance on marketing claims alone.
Where lab sustainability meets product design reality
For many laboratory products, sustainability improvements are closely tied to operational efficiency during routine use. Because instruments remain in service for years, efficiency can significantly influence both environmental impact and long-term costs.
Joydeep Ganguly, chief operations and quality officer at Agilent, notes that sustainability in practice often centers on helping laboratories achieve more with fewer resources, including reduced energy use, lower consumable consumption, and improved throughput.
“From a lab perspective, because most instruments remain in service for eight to 10 years, a significant portion of their environmental impact occurs during the use phase,” Ganguly says. “Improving operational efficiency is therefore essential to reducing overall carbon footprint.”
In consumables and accessories, sustainability challenges often center on materials. Many laboratory consumables rely on petroleum-based plastics because they provide consistent performance, sterility assurance, and affordability at scale—factors that are difficult to replicate with alternative materials. “The biggest challenge for more sustainable product options to be successful in the market is the ability to have all of these factors inherent in the product,” says Chad Jenkins, CEO of PulpFixin. “If the product is seriously lacking in any of these parameters, it will have little impact in meeting a larger sustainability goal as utilization will be greatly reduced.”
Innovation examples emerging across sustainable lab products
Recent product developments show how sustainability and performance improvements can align when life cycle considerations are incorporated into design. Agilent’s Infinity III liquid chromatography systems, for example, include features designed to reduce energy consumption, extend instrument life, and minimize waste. The technology was recently recognized with the first Sustainable Lab Product Innovation Award from My Green Lab and Lab Manager.
Transitioning from legacy systems to newer platforms can also significantly reduce resource usage. According to Ganguly, upgrading methods on newer instruments has enabled customers to achieve substantial solvent reductions and shorter analysis times, delivering measurable operational and environmental benefits.
Innovation is also occurring in materials and consumables, where sustainability considerations are influencing product design choices. Manufacturers are exploring alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics while maintaining performance requirements. Companies such as Jenkins’ PulpFixin are developing molded-fiber laboratory products designed to reduce reliance on conventional plastic materials while meeting laboratory durability and usability needs.
“Paper and paper-pulp can be an alternative for many unnecessary plastic products,” Jenkins says.
These approaches highlight how sustainability considerations can influence product development across multiple categories, from large analytical instruments to everyday lab consumables.
The role of lab managers in driving lab sustainability
Laboratories are not passive participants in this evolution. Purchasing decisions and customer expectations are increasingly influencing vendor priorities, creating incentives for manufacturers to invest in sustainable lab products.
“Customers increasingly expect suppliers to support their net-zero and sustainability commitments,” Ganguly says, noting that organizations may shift toward vendors that can demonstrate progress when alternatives are available.
For lab managers, asking targeted questions can reveal important differences among products and vendors.
“Be curious about the full life cycle of a product,” Nanes and Germain say. “Has the company obtained ACT Ecolabel certification for its products? Does the facility use renewable energy? Is the packaging sustainable or reusable? How is the product disposed of, or can it be recycled into something else? Does the vendor offer any take-back programs to reuse or recycle within their facility?”
Providing feedback also matters. Cost remains a major factor in adoption decisions, meaning sustainable lab products must deliver both environmental benefits and operational value to gain traction.
The future of sustainable lab products
As sustainability expectations continue to evolve, the integration of environmental performance into laboratory product innovation will accelerate. Standardized evaluation frameworks, certification programs, and recognition initiatives are helping to make sustainable lab products more visible and comparable across vendors, while customer demand is encouraging manufacturers to incorporate environmental considerations earlier in the design process.
For lab managers, the future of lab sustainability will involve balancing scientific requirements with environmental priorities, leveraging available data and tools, and engaging vendors in conversations that emphasize both performance and sustainability. Laboratories that actively evaluate life cycle impacts, communicate expectations to suppliers, and align procurement decisions with environmental goals will help shape not only their own operations but the future direction of laboratory innovation across the industry.
