Sustainability champion Allison Hunter has won an international award for her work advancing laboratory sustainability in the university sector.
"I am committed to embedding sustainable thinking into every layer of our technical infrastructure. Allison Hunter
Allison, who is Head of Technical Operations in the Department of Life Sciences, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Lab Sustainability from My Green Lab – a non-profit organisation dedicated to building a global culture of sustainability within the scientific community.
Her award was announced at this week's My Green Lab Summit 2025. The summit, My Green Lab's flagship annual event, was themed 'Rising to the Challenge' and brought together speakers from around the world to share bold ideas and practical strategies on laboratory sustainability.
Allison said: "I was absolutely not expecting this award. It's a very delightful surprise to receive it and very humbling to have recognition from my peer group for my sustainability work."
James Connelly, CEO of My Green Lab, said: "This award is a testament to Allison's unwavering commitment and exceptional contributions to advancing sustainability in laboratory environments. Her visionary leadership and tireless dedication have set a new standard for what can be achieved in this field, inspired a global movement and we are thrilled to honour her impactful work." (Read James's quote in full at the bottom of the story).
Making a difference
Allison has played a key role in Imperial's journey towards lab sustainability since she joined in 2015. During her time, she has continually promoted direct measurable actions in lab sustainability in her own labs, as well as other across the university. She has given talks, seminars, organised a symposium and webinars locally, nationally and internationally which have encouraged other labs and institutions to embark on their sustainability programmes.
"[Allison's] tireless hard work and passion has made an enormous difference" Professor Daniel M. Davis Head of Life Sciences
In 2021, she was awarded a prestigious Institute of Science and Technology (IST) Fellowship. In 2024 she took up a secondment in the university's Sustainability Hub to catalyse the Imperial's lab sustainability standards – championing labs across the university to seek accreditation on schemes such as My Green Lab and LEAF. And she has received numerous accolades in Imperial's annual staff recognition ceremonies, including the President's Award for Research Support Excellence (2018), the Provost's Award for Excellence in Health and Safety (2020), and President's Award for Excellence in Sustainability (2025).
Professor Daniel M. Davis, Head of Life Sciences and Professor in Immunology, said: "For many years, Allison has been championing sustainability issues in our department and across our university. She made us aware of all sorts of vital issues and has pioneered countless initiatives. Her tireless hard work and passion has made an enormous difference, both practically and to our mindset. I can't tell you how happy I am that her work is being recognised by this award."
Championing sustainable science
Allison first became interested in sustainability while at King's College London, where she initiated the university's very first lab sustainability project in 2008 and has been passionate about this ever since. She introduced a cold storage energy initiative for biological samples when the building she worked in had reached its power limit.
In the years since, her work has grown in scope and impact, with achievements including the delivery of lab sustainability workshops in conjunction with My Green Lab; becoming a stakeholder for a UK government-led scoping study on lab cooling equipment; and lobbying the EU on professional refrigeration standards.
She also currently leads Imperial's Technicians' Network, and has championed the Science Council Technician Commitment and professional registration for technical staff at both King's and Imperial since 2012.
Allison finds sustainability isn't just a personal imperative – it's a business-critical one that aligns with her professional responsibility.
She said: "I am committed to embedding sustainable thinking into every layer of our technical infrastructure. By aligning operational excellence with environmental responsibility in the research space we use, and by making those considerations in what we buy, how we use it and remove it, sustainability and science can thrive together."
Sign up to a lab sustainability scheme today!
Imperial's Sustainability Hub is rolling out laboratory efficiency schemes – Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) and My Green Lab – to help lab teams make their practices more sustainable and reduce their carbon footprint.
Time is of the essence as, from the end of December 2025, the Wellcome Trust will require current grant holders and new funding applicants to have lab sustainability accreditation at a minimum of Bronze level with My Green Lab certification, and Cancer Research UK will require Silver level before submitting any new applications. Other major funders may follow.
