labor team has reached a significant milestone: it is one of the first medical laboratories in Europe to be awarded the “Green & Sustainable Laboratory” certificate by the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM). This recognition, which the laboratory received at the end of 2023, is a testament to its remarkable efforts to minimize the environmental impact of its activities and embed sustainability in its operations.
Sustainability through ESG
Taking responsibility. Because we can.
Certification as a Green & Sustainable Laboratory
Pioneering role and new standards in the industry
Certification by the EFLM followed a comprehensive assessment by labor team based on 150 criteria in various areas. These areas included:
- Management of hazardous chemicals: handling and disposal of chemicals that pose a potential risk to the environment and health.
- Energy management: Measures to save energy and use renewable energy sources.
- Waste management: Strategies for reducing, reusing and recycling waste.
- Water management: Efficient use and treatment of water resources.
By meeting these extensive and varied criteria, labor team proves that it both meets the requirements and takes a leading role in the industry. This award serves as a source of inspiration and sets new standards for sustainable practices in medical laboratories.
What influence do we have on the environment and society?
We asked ourselves this question at labor team and tried to map the current ESG status. ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance. The ESG criteria can be used to measure how sustainably a company operates. We determined our CO2 footprint for the first time in 2021, calculated our net social value and put ourselves to the test as an employer. In general, as a medical laboratory, we promote health in Switzerland and achieved a net social value of 180.9 million euro in 2021. This sum comes from the fact that our laboratory makes a valuable contribution to clinical decision-making – day after day.
Environmental
At the beginning of 2022, we joined the "Climate Neutral Now" initiative to offset our CO2 footprint from the previous year. We were thus able to offset the 1,550 tonnes of CO2 emissions generated in 2021. We also received a CO2 certificate from Swissconnect AG, the most sustainable courier service in Switzerland, for using ecological means of transport (bicycle and public transport). Thanks to optimised logistics planning, we were able to save 915 tonnes of CO2 in this area.
Social
Here, too, we started to put our company to the test in 2021 with regard to the ESG criteria. We consider it a great success that we have achieved equal pay between female and male employees (equal pay ratio = 1) and have conducted a survey among our employees for the first time regarding their satisfaction. In terms of diversity, our lab does relatively well, as we have a 69-percent share of women among the staff. In terms of management, we are still at 25 percent.
Corporate governance
Since 2020, we have adopted a new management focus and are concentrating even more on transparency, innovation and partnership. By signing the FAMH Laboratory Code, which came into force in 2022, we have also made a commitment to fair competition. When it comes to IT, we also try to act as responsibly as possible. That is why we have established strict internal cyber security guidelines and have our IT environment externally audited.
Our sustainability goals
labor team aims to continue reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the future. To this end, we have converted the laboratory lighting to economical LED lights and want to further increase the share of renewable energies from the current 4 percent. In the area of social affairs, we want to expand our culture of competence with further training opportunities. In addition, we are working on a code of conduct for business partners. We also want to introduce an internal code of conduct in order to do the best possible job for the Swiss healthcare system and the people who live in our country, with the highest standards for ourselves and our laboratory.
