2BScientific and Sustainability
Blog Post – 2BScientific and Sustainability
You, Us, and the Environment
2BScientific doesn’t just set out to keep our promise of “no-one does more for the customer” whilst providing an incredible range of reagents. Since 2009, brothers and founders of the company, Tim and James Bernard set out to make a reputable, trustworthy, and dependable business. This has been demonstrated time and time again through multiple ISO accreditations, offsetting our carbon footprint to make us carbon neutral, a range of international charity work via donations and being a member of the Slave-Free alliance.
Since the very beginning of 2BScientific sustainability has always been a key corporate value that we have embraced. As a team, we set out to leave the planet in a better condition than we left it, this is why we aim to cover all attributes and faucets that impact the planet. We practice sustainability in a range of ways, from donating to creditable charities to our international work, where we ensure our global suppliers, and their workflow is entirely slave free. For more blogs on how we are responsible to our environment and what you can do to impact the environment positively, check out our list of blogs on sustainability.
Sustainability is about how we manage our resources for the future. It's about how we use and protect what we have to ensure that it will be there in the future for us, our children, and animals globally. Sustainability is also about ensuring that people can live with dignity, by ensuring everyone has access to clean water, food, shelter, and energy. One of the ways 2BScientific ensures we contribute to this is via being part of the Slave-Free Alliance, demonstrating our resilience to modern slavery by having a slave free supply chain.
The biggest challenge facing humanity today is climate change. Climate change means changes in weather patterns such as droughts or floods which affect agriculture, water supply, human health, and infrastructure systems across all countries.
There are a range of ways researchers can be more sustainable and eco-friendlier in the laboratory! Even just the basics of ensuring that the lights and machines are turned off when they are not in use results in not only reduced energy bills but additionally reduces the use of fossil fuels which, when burnt as fuel, tears through the o-zone layer that protects the earth from the suns harmful rays. Slightly more unconventional is checking the seals on -80 degree freezers as well as defrosting them regularly, -80 degree freezers require a lot of power, so a faulty seal letting in heat and the cold out results in the machine having to work unnecessarily hard to maintain that, therefore using more energy. Lastly, ensure you can use glass where possible over plastic! In most cases, items such as plastic reservoirs and plastic flasks can be removed from the lab in exchange for glass, this reduces plastic waste whilst still allowing the scientist to carry out their normal tasks, while not contributing to the 2.1 billion tons of waste produced internationally yearly.
2BScientific has always had the goal of promoting and contributing to a sustainable business model, which is demonstrated by us being a completely carbon neutral company as well as a plethora of other aspects. Introducing this list by proudly switching to Octopus Energy, an energy provider that providing 2BScientific with energy from 100% renewable sources such as sun, wind, and water! Single-use plastics are irresponsible, and here at 2BScientific we know better, that is why we include recyclable jiffy bags, paper packing fillers, biodegradable self-sealed product bags, biodegradable bubble wrap, biodegradable foam chips (recycled from suppliers).
2BScientific has experienced considerable growth in 2022 meaning that a change in office space was a must. We searched high and low for a larger, more sustainable and more ecological building whilst still providing quality life science reagents. In doing so, we transitioned to Kirtlington Business Centre, a beautiful office space in Oxfordshire which features everything we need to be more efficient as a team. Continuing to demonstrate our conscientiousness regarding the environment, the office features ground source heat pumps, electric car chargers, rainwater harvesting and utilizes a 100% eco energy provided by octopus energy paired with the installation of solar panels in the near future.
Our bee branding isn’t just for show either! Bees mean a lot to us, and we do our best to contribute to sustainable and reputable charities such as British Bee Keepers Association who not only research methods of protecting bees from issues such as global warming and pesticides but also educate school children on the importance of bees, to date, 2BScientific has proudly raised nearly £20,000 to this great cause! As 2BScientific grows, so does our contribution to bees which is why we proudly work alongside Bees For Development to promote sustainable beekeeping to combat poverty.
More can be learnt about sustainability and what 2BScientific does to ensure we do what we can here!
Links for further knowledge listed below – Please understand that sustainability, global warming, and associated topics are at a critical turning point in history, thus why information should be from reputable sources.
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/