Green Impact Laboratory Accreditation

Why would I need Green Impact Laboratory Accreditation (GILA)?

Green Impact uses an online toolkit to support teams of staff in many different organisations to create positive action in their area of work. These toolkits are bespoke to each organisation, completely tailored and accessible to teams, and contain only locally relevant information in line with local sustainability priorities.

With sustainability becoming a higher priority across all major organisations, funding bodies are now frequently looking for applicants to show evidence of achievement in a sustainability programme. Therefore, we introduced a nationally standardised certificate that is easily recognised by research grant managers and other stakeholders, and which demonstrates that the laboratory has achieved the expected level of environmental compliance.

Our research laboratory-specific module contains 54 nationally standardised actions to work towards sustainable laboratory practice. This fulfils the criteria of funding bodies to participate in a sustainability programme (e.g. Wellcome Trust; Cancer Research UK). If you work in a laboratory, you can share your GILA certificate when applying for research grants as evidence of your commitment to, and progress towards, environmentally sustainable research.

What support is available with Green Impact Laboratory Accreditation (GILA)?

The Green Impact lead at your institution will know what support you have. In some cases, different arrangements are made to suit specific organisations.

Frequently asked questions about GILA

1. How many actions do I need to complete?

You must gain at least 175 points from actions tagged as GILA, including 7 mandatory actions, to gain accreditation. This works out to be at least 30 of 54 actions.

2. I’m worried I won’t be able to complete all of the actions in my lab due to certain restrictions! What can I do?

You do not need to complete all actions in the GILA module. This allows for flexibility in the nature of different labs spaces, and means you can choose the actions most relevant to your work whilst still ensuring significant progress has been made.

3. One of the labs in my department is working towards their GILA certificate. Can I use that certificate as evidence in my funding bid?

We recommend that each principal investigator (PI) has their own GILA certificate. This is because each certificate will show a named PI, and we would like as many laboratories as possible to be working towards sustainable practice! One GILA certificate can cover all labs that a PI and their team work in.

This may not be necessary for all funding bodies. If you are unsure you should look for specific guidance in their requirements or contact your grant officer.

4. When a research group uses a shared facility, does the facility need accreditation, or the research group?

You should clarify this with your grant officer.

For the Wellcome Trust, current guidance is that Research Academics must hold a GILA certificate, and an institutional/college/school approach is not sufficient or in line with their funding policy. The Wellcome Trust have included this line in their updated funding policy:

Laboratories should achieve the minimum level of accreditation offered by LEAF, My Green Lab or equivalent by the end of 2025. (GILA is counted as ‘equivalent.’)

For Cancer Research UK, current guidance is that Lead and Joint Lead applicants must each hold an accreditation. They have included the following in their funding policy:

Lead and Joint Lead applicants must hold the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) or My Green Lab Certification at the Silver level, or an equivalent scheme for their research group(s) at the time of submission; either attach the certification to their funding application or provide a link to a publicly available list of accredited research groups at their Host Institution(s). (GILA again is counted as ‘equivalent’ to silver level.)

5. When and how will we be audited?

If your organisation has Tier 1 GILA support, you will be audited at the same time as the usual Green Impact audits. If there is Tier 2 support, lab-specific audits will be arranged at a separate time, up to a few months after the standard Green Impact audits.

You will be audited by students who are trained by SOS-UK during a half-day training course. These auditors will then look through the evidence and comments you have uploaded to the toolkit, and they will also arrange an audit call with you to talk through any clarifications that are required.

6. Do I need to complete others actions on the toolkit, beyond the the GILA actions?

No, this is not a requirement of GILA accreditation. However, you are welcome to complete more to work towards a Green Impact award.

7. I need my certificate sooner than the audit date!

Please contact your Green Impact lead at your institution.

• Contact
• Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK)