Created due to an unmet demand in UK universities, Green Lab Associates assists institutions improve the efficiency and sustainability of their research laboratories through audit-based assessment and consulting. Laboratories often consume up to 5x more energy per square meter than other academic spaces in universities. However, they are rarely assessed due to their specialized nature.
Who We Are
Martin Farley | Director
Raised between France and the US, Martin started down the path of becoming a researcher in his university years, taking him to Canada, the US, and the Netherlands. This path was interrupted though, when his passion for sustainability led him to become the UK's (and Europe’s) first full-time sustainable laboratory specialist at the University of Edinburgh. After he moved south to London where he founded Green Lab Associates, while establishing the sustainable labs program at King's College London (where he was recognized with the Green Gown - Sustainability Professional award). Today he consults for a variety of institutions, whilst regularly speaking and teaching on the topic.
Martin is has been recognized in the sector through:
• Winner of the EAUC's Sustainability Professional Green Gown award for investigating sample storage temperatures, and starting sustainable lab programs at the University of Edinburgh and King's College London
• Contributions to the NUS run Green Impacts Labs Tab
• Writing on green lab practices
• An IEMA Fellowship for helping to pioneer sustainable laboratories in the UK
Emily Phelps| Sustainable Labs Officer, UCL
Emily graduated from the University of Bristol in 2019, where she completed her MSc in Biology. Emily worked as the Sustainable Labs Assistant for the Bristol’s sustainability department, where she helped to facilitate the LEAF programme. She is experienced in behaviour change and engagement projects, and has worked around equipment sharing, chemical inventories, and academic travel. Currently she is embedded at UCL, and is delivering and managing the LEAF programme.
Matthew Bennett| Project Officer
Matthew brings technical expertise, innovation, and knowledge of embedding sustainability in laboratory operations. He leads the institutional wide sustainable labs programme at the University of East Anglia using an array of mechanisms for improved efficiency performance. He is an equipment design specialist, working in partnership with manufacturers to bring innovative products with sustainability benefits to the commercial market. Matthew’s work was recognised in 2016 with a Green Gown Award in Research and Development, and was a 2019 Finalist in the Sustainability Staff Champion category. He currently works as a part-time as a project officer.
Ben Murray| Project Assistant
Ben recently completed his PhD in Chemistry from the City College of New York, while simultaneously investigating lab sustainability on campus. Ben's experience in chemistry research has allowed him to identify projects that have strong sustainability opportunities, and is experienced in designing frameworks for sustainability programs. As a researcher himself, he's aware of an investigator's needs, and knows when and where sustainability projects will yield the best returns. Ben was supported by Green Lab Associates in initiating a green lab programme in his college.