Using Greener Products

Enabling sustainability in our customers’ labs

Thermo Fisher Scientific is committed to designing our products with the environment in mind—it’s part of how we enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner, and safer. We are taking a fresh look at how we make our products and how our customers are using them. By incorporating principles of green chemistry and green engineering into our product design, we are minimizing chemical hazards, increasing reaction efficiency, and minimizing waste. Our greener product alternatives can help advance sustainability in the lab by minimizing the use of hazardous chemicals, minimizing waste and material consumption, and increasing energy efficiency. This not only helps our customers to be more sustainable but also helps improve lab safety and reduces costs.  

Look for the leaf
Look for the leaf

To make it easy to find our greener product alternatives, we have added a green leaf symbol to product search results and product pages. Wherever possible, we work to provide our customers with sustainable product options with the following features:

  • Less hazardous
  • Less waste; uses fewer resources
  • Energy efficient
  • Sustainable packaging
  • Sustainable disposal

The ACT Label

ACT form

In partnership with My Green lab, Thermo Fisher is making it easier to make greener product choices.

Learn more ›


Find greener product alternatives

Minimizing hazardous materials and hazardous waste in the lab is a win for both safety and the environment. Fewer hazards can lower exposure risk for lab personnel and reduce costs for hazardous waste disposal.

Criteria for less hazardous products

We have rigorously evaluated products to ensure they meet at least one of the following:

  • Is inherently less hazardous
  • Reduces the need to use other hazardous materials
  • Generates less hazardous waste
  • Is reformulated so as not to require Dangerous Good for Transport (TDG) classification
  • Free of ozone depleting substances

See all less hazardous products ›

Green fact sheets for less hazardous products

Eliminates ethanol and acetic acid, reducing hazardous waste by 120 mL per gel


Alternative to radioisotope labeling

When minimizing waste in your lab, every little bit helps. The products listed below support your work while reducing materials typically bound for a landfill, helping shrink your costs along with your footprint.

Criteria for products that generate less waste and use fewer resources

We have rigorously evaluated products to ensure they meet at least one of the following:

  • Reduces the need to use other materials
  • Product is made with less material
  • Product contains recycled content
  • Product contains content from renewable resources

See all less waste products ›

Green fact sheets for less waste products

From cold storage and instruments to temperature-sensitive chemicals, labs can consume a lot of energy. Our energy-efficient products help power your work and support your sustainability objectives without compromising performance.

Criteria for products that are energy efficient

We have rigorously evaluated products to ensure they meet at least one of the following:

For instruments

  • Operates with less energy
  • Meets a publicly recognized standard for energy efficiency

For chemicals

  • Reactions do not require external temperature control
  • Reagents designed for ambient storage

See all energy efficient products ›

Green fact sheets for energy efficient products

Use up to 68% less energy than previous models


Use up to 42% less energy than competitive models

Packaging must protect the product inside—but that doesn’t have to mean sacrificing sustainability. We’re finding solutions to reduce packaging, replace non-recyclable materials and ship products at ambient temperatures whenever feasible. Our goals are to give you less packaging waste, maximize packaging recyclability and reduce package size for more efficient shipping and storage in the lab.

Criteria for products with sustainable packaging

We have rigorously evaluated products to ensure they meet at least one of the following:

  • Product requires no packaging
  • Product shipped ambient instead of cold chain
  • Product has less packaging material
  • Packaging designed to be reusable
  • Packaging designed to be degradable/recyclable

See all sustainable packaging products ›

Products that now ship ambient instead of cold chain

300,000 fewer coolers per year

Go Ambient

Through our “Go Ambient” program we have been evaluating whether or not products that currently ship cold could ship ambient. Through rigorous stability and performance analysis, we evaluate whether or not short-duration ambient shipment has any effect on the immediate and long-term product quality.  Each year we ship 300,000 fewer EPS coolers and use nearly 2,500 fewer metric tons of refrigerant.  This reduces waste for customers and cuts carbon emissions.

Green fact sheets for sustainable packaging products

We are working to close the loop for products that have reached their end-of-life by partnering and designing for sustainable disposal. Excess instruments and consumables waste don’t have to take up space in your lab or the landfill.  We are working to take back or help you recycle what remains.

Criteria for products with sustainable disposal options

Products have been rigorously evaluated to ensure they meet at least one of the following:

For instruments

  • Is designed to be upgradeable to extend life
  • Product has a take-back program in place
  • Product is readily recyclable at end of life

For plastic consumables and reagents

  • Is reusable or returnable
  • Readily recyclable at end-of-life

See all sustainable disposal products ›

Green fact sheets for sustainable disposal products

Minimizing hazardous materials and hazardous waste in the lab is a win for both safety and the environment. Fewer hazards can lower exposure risk for lab personnel and reduce costs for hazardous waste disposal.

Criteria for less hazardous products

We have rigorously evaluated products to ensure they meet at least one of the following:

  • Is inherently less hazardous
  • Reduces the need to use other hazardous materials
  • Generates less hazardous waste
  • Is reformulated so as not to require Dangerous Good for Transport (TDG) classification
  • Free of ozone depleting substances

See all less hazardous products ›

Green fact sheets for less hazardous products

Eliminates ethanol and acetic acid, reducing hazardous waste by 120 mL per gel


Alternative to radioisotope labeling

When minimizing waste in your lab, every little bit helps. The products listed below support your work while reducing materials typically bound for a landfill, helping shrink your costs along with your footprint.

Criteria for products that generate less waste and use fewer resources

We have rigorously evaluated products to ensure they meet at least one of the following:

  • Reduces the need to use other materials
  • Product is made with less material
  • Product contains recycled content
  • Product contains content from renewable resources

See all less waste products ›

Green fact sheets for less waste products

From cold storage and instruments to temperature-sensitive chemicals, labs can consume a lot of energy. Our energy-efficient products help power your work and support your sustainability objectives without compromising performance.

Criteria for products that are energy efficient

We have rigorously evaluated products to ensure they meet at least one of the following:

For instruments

  • Operates with less energy
  • Meets a publicly recognized standard for energy efficiency

For chemicals

  • Reactions do not require external temperature control
  • Reagents designed for ambient storage

See all energy efficient products ›

Green fact sheets for energy efficient products

Use up to 68% less energy than previous models


Use up to 42% less energy than competitive models

Packaging must protect the product inside—but that doesn’t have to mean sacrificing sustainability. We’re finding solutions to reduce packaging, replace non-recyclable materials and ship products at ambient temperatures whenever feasible. Our goals are to give you less packaging waste, maximize packaging recyclability and reduce package size for more efficient shipping and storage in the lab.

Criteria for products with sustainable packaging

We have rigorously evaluated products to ensure they meet at least one of the following:

  • Product requires no packaging
  • Product shipped ambient instead of cold chain
  • Product has less packaging material
  • Packaging designed to be reusable
  • Packaging designed to be degradable/recyclable

See all sustainable packaging products ›

Products that now ship ambient instead of cold chain

300,000 fewer coolers per year

Go Ambient

Through our “Go Ambient” program we have been evaluating whether or not products that currently ship cold could ship ambient. Through rigorous stability and performance analysis, we evaluate whether or not short-duration ambient shipment has any effect on the immediate and long-term product quality.  Each year we ship 300,000 fewer EPS coolers and use nearly 2,500 fewer metric tons of refrigerant.  This reduces waste for customers and cuts carbon emissions.

Green fact sheets for sustainable packaging products

We are working to close the loop for products that have reached their end-of-life by partnering and designing for sustainable disposal. Excess instruments and consumables waste don’t have to take up space in your lab or the landfill.  We are working to take back or help you recycle what remains.

Criteria for products with sustainable disposal options

Products have been rigorously evaluated to ensure they meet at least one of the following:

For instruments

  • Is designed to be upgradeable to extend life
  • Product has a take-back program in place
  • Product is readily recyclable at end of life

For plastic consumables and reagents

  • Is reusable or returnable
  • Readily recyclable at end-of-life

See all sustainable disposal products ›

Green fact sheets for sustainable disposal products

How sustainable are your lab practices?

Laboratories can be big consumers of resources and waste producers, but there are choices you can make everyday to lower your lab’s environmental impact and achieve sustainability stardom. Put your lab practices to the test in the environmental board game where every action has a reaction. 

Go to game

game-image

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.