University of Coimbra hosts symposium on sustainability in scientific research

English version: Diana Taborda

The first symposium of the GreenLabs Portugal network will be held at the University of Coimbra on the 22nd of September to debate how to reduce the environmental impact of scientific research without compromising the fundamental role of science and innovation in the progress of society. The event starts at 9:30 am at the UC Student Hub.

The need to implement "green labs" that adopt sustainable practices in order to reduce their environmental impact is a growing concern in the scientific community. In 2022, the establishment of the Green Labs Portugal network brought together several Portuguese research centres into a consortium - including the Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CIBB), the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC) and the Coimbra Institute for Clinical and Biomedical Research (iCBR). The Portuguese network is a member of the Sustainable European Laboratories Networks (SELs).

The "Green Labs Portugal Symposium: Promoting Sustainability in Research" will discuss the different aspects of what a 'green lab' is, the steps required to achieve a 'green lab' certification, sustainability in science and how companies are changing their approach and providing innovative services to support research laboratories with a lower carbon footprint.

Luís Pereira de Almeida, CIBB coordinator; Patrícia Pereira da Silva, UC Pro-Rector for Planning and Sustainability, and João Ramalho-Santos, UC Vice-Rector for Research, are some of the speakers in the opening session.

The full programme is available at: https://greenlabs.pt/glpt_symposium_2023/.