With climate change an ever-growing threat to our planet, making a commitment to sustainability is no longer a nice-to-have for businesses. It is a corporate necessity.
From purchasing to waste disposal, from energy usage to transport plans, there is huge scope for organisations to make a difference by reducing their carbon footprint across their operations.
Few industry sectors are as committed to sustainability as the scientific community, which is actively engaged in a series of innovative schemes and initiatives to ensure today’s discoveries don’t come at the expense of tomorrow.
And one of the areas where they are making the biggest difference is procurement. This is becoming a compliance issue, not just a values one, and is driving the demand for refurbished lab equipment, including chromatography and spectrometry machines.
That’s where we can help. By opting for reconditioned or refurbished parts or equipment, we can support you in your efforts to reduce e-waste and promote sustainability in your operations.
By 2028, pharmaceutical companies who supply their products to the NHS will be required to provide product-level carbon footprinting, which includes the carbon cost of the equipment used to manufacture a specific drug in its total footprint.
And the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) will require mandatory reporting as a part of a stricter expectation of an organisation’s Scope 3 emissions, which includes the embedded carbon in the equipment they buy.
Universities, meanwhile, are under significant pressure from students, funders and government bodies to demonstrate sustainability, and as of 2026, signing up to LEAF – the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework – has become a strategic requirement for institutions who are facing new pressures from research funders.
Procurement is a scored criterion within LEAF, so buying refurbished equipment will help lab managers with their LEAF score, alongside space use, waste and chemicals.
Chromatography has widespread application in an array of industries, including pharmaceuticals, environmental monitoring, food safety, forensics and academia, and LC Services has been supplying our refurbished machines to customers in these sectors for more than 20 years.
Buying refurbished equipment is a sustainable choice for many different reasons, not least because manufacturing new analytical equipment – including HPLC systems and spectrometers – requires significant quantities of raw materials, plastics and energy.
The carbon emissions generated during the production and global shipping of new laboratory instruments are substantial – and they all have to be acknowledged by companies who buy and use them.
These issues are avoided with a piece of refurbished equipment. The existing materials, components and engineering are given a second productive life, dramatically reducing the environmental cost per unit of use.
Then there is the other end of the spectrum – disposal.
Chromatography equipment that reaches the end of working life is full of complex electronic and mechanical equipment containing hazardous materials and non-recyclable components that make disposal both difficult and environmentally damaging.
Refurbishing them and putting them to good use is a much better alternative – and anyone who buys a refurbished machine can rest assured that they are keeping high-value, high-complexity instruments in productive use and reducing waste.
We hate waste at LC Services and we do our utmost to ensure we throw out as little as possible. When we receive a machine, we take it apart and inspect everything, aiming to reuse what we can.
The good news is that 70 to 90% of machine parts can be reused, with only components that genuinely wear out – such as seals, lamps and tubing – needing to be replaced.
This is because the machines are extremely well-made to ensure they are accurate and reliable – and, unlike your average washing machine, they are built to last.
They use high-spec materials, including chemically resistant plastics and stainless steel fluid paths, which resist corrosion and handle aggressive solutions – and so are hard-wearing and resilient.
What’s more, they’re modular and so built to be repaired, and performance can be restored to near-original levels, meaning a refurbished machine delivers everything your team requires.
And the good news? A refurbished machine costs a fraction of their brand-new equivalent, often by 40-60%, which is a huge benefit for organisations who are trying to save money as well as the planet.
All in all, the case for buying refurbished chromatography equipment is nothing short of compelling and is a wonderful example of the circular economy in action – extending the life of valuable equipment while reducing our lab’s carbon footprint.
