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Environmental Sustainability at the Kennedy

We take sustainability seriously. Our research labs are 100% LEAF accredited. Our Sustainability Club meets monthly to drive down the carbon footprint of our science.

A group of people stand on a stage in a lecture theatre. Each of them holds a small framed certificate. In the background is a slide with portrait photos of sustainability champions.

DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN SCIENCE

Since 2025 all of our research labs have at least a Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) Silver award based on their sustainable practices, and in 2026 over half have a LEAF Gold award.

The Kennedy Institute Sustainability Club meets quarterly to discuss and implement ways to make our science more environmentally sustainable.

Our past efforts have been recognised by a series of awards, most recently in 2019-2020 with the attainment of a Beyond Gold Award from the NUS Green Impact scheme.

Our Green Facilities

We use renewable resources as part of our day-to-day operations:

  • The Kennedy Institute runs on 100% renewable energy.
  • Solar panels on our roof generate additional electricity to power our facilities.
  • We harvest rainwater and use it to flush our toilets.

We recycle beyond the basics:

  • No lab waste is sent to landfill.
  • We played a pivotal role in expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling across the Old Road Campus.
  • Old refrigerators are collected for safe recycling.
  • The used grounds from our FairTrade coffee are collected and turned into ‘coffee logs’ as biofuel.
  • We use food recycling bins in our kitchen areas.

We are committed to saving energy:

  • We adjusted many of our -80ᵒC freezers to -70ᵒC, saving electricity without compromising on storage quality for non-clinical samples.
  • All our lights use efficient LED bulbs and most of them are motion-activated to reduce wasted electricity.
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