NOVA Green Labs is a working group established in 2022, composed of 11 members from NOVA’s schools and institutes that operate wet lab activities: FCT, NOVA Medical School, IHMT, and ITQB-NOVA. These laboratories span a range of fields, from life and health sciences to chemistry, environmental sciences, materials, and restoration.
Ensuring the safety of people, materials, and the environment requires high control standards, which translates into significant energy consumption. Moreover, the handling of potentially toxic or pathogenic agents demands highly specialized treatment systems.
Thus, the group’s mission is to transform laboratory practices by embedding sustainability as a core principle of good laboratory practices. Drawing on the diverse experiences from NOVA’s various laboratories, the team identifies and monitors key impact sources, collaboratively assessing opportunities to reduce water, energy, and material consumption, as well as waste production, including hazardous waste. To validate and accelerate this sustainability journey, six laboratories from different NOVA organizational units are currently undergoing certification through the My Green Lab program.
The NOVA Green Labs team is responsible for:
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Promoting resource circularity, minimizing environmental and occupational health impacts in each laboratory;
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Engaging students and researchers to continuously improve sustainability standards in equipment use and lab practices;
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Leading the certification process in their respective labs, covering a wide range of topics such as sustainable purchasing, water and electricity consumption, recycling, and waste reduction.
MILESTONES | NOVA Medical School
- 07/2022 | Kick-off of NOVA Green Labs with the Vice-Rector, Professor Júlia Seixas
- 09/2023 | Kick-off of NOva Medical School Green Labs Teams
- 02/2024 | Casual Friday with Science Seminars – NOVA Medical School Green Labs
- 03/2025 | Start of the My Green Lab Certification Program (1st Assessment)
- 07/2025 | Final Submission of NOVA Laboratories for My Green Lab Certification