SAS Circular Economy, Life Cycle Assessment & Laboratory Sustainability, FHNW School of Life Sciences

After completing the SAS, you will be able to:

• Evaluate Laboratory Circularity: Understand the foundational principles of the Circular Econ-omy and apply the specialized four-layer GreenLab framework to systematically analyse material and resource flow within regulated laboratory systems.
• Quantify Footprints: Interpret, challenge, and apply Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) and carbon accounting metrics to lab assets and supplies.
• Life Cycle Costing (LCC): Apply LCC methods to capture all costs across a lab asset's life cy-cle and demonstrate the financial payback of sustainable laboratory investments.
• Formulate Business Cases: Combine environmental KPIs with financial data to justify circular infrastructure upgrades to corporate decision-makers.
• Lead Sustainable Procurement: Evaluate criteria for equipment longevity (“Right to Repair”), analyse material passports, and optimize supply chain consolidation.

This programme is designed for those driving sustainability and circular transformation in life science laboratory environments.

• Lab Operations & Management: You manage laboratory operations or operational excellence and want to systematically improve resource efficiency, sustainability, and performance.
• Sustainability & Procurement Experts: You work in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), sustainability, or procurement, and are looking for actionable, data-backed strategies to implement circular solutions in practice.
• Planners & Facility Managers: You are involved in the planning, engineering, operation, or modernization of laboratories and want to align sustainability with compliance and business objectives.
• Life Science Sector: You operate within the pharmaceutical, biotech, medtech, healthcare, or research sector and want to actively lead the transition towards more sustainable laboratory systems.
• Industry Providers & Consultants: You support laboratories as a consultant, specialized planner, manufacturer, or service provider and want to develop circular products, services, and innovative business models.

This intensive 5-day SAS-module bridges sustainability strategy with bench-level operations. It forms the foundational module of the CAS Circular Economy for Laboratories and includes an excursion.

In this module, you will build a solid foundation in Circular Economy principles specifically tailored to laboratory environments. You will learn to connect strategic sustainability goals with measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) applying life-cycle tools such as Science-Based Targets, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC), and circular performance metrics to evaluate environmental and economic impact in labs.

• Circular Economy Frameworks: Apply circular principles and the R-10 hierarchy directly to complex laboratory environments.
• The GreenLab Four-Layer Model: Evaluate sustainability systematically across all levels: Building, Infrastructure, Devices, and Consumables.
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Master LCA tools to analyse and minimize the environmental footprint of lab assets and supplies.
• Life Cycle Costing (LCC): Apply LCC methods to capture all costs across a lab asset's life cy-cle and demonstrate the financial payback of sustainable laboratory investments.
• Sustainability KPIs & Benchmarking: Establish data-driven metrics and performance frame-works for institutional sustainability audits.
• Circular Business Models: Design and implement alternative resource strategies, such as shared laboratory infrastructure.
• Change Management: Acquire the leadership tools needed to align diverse stakeholders and drive a successful cultural transition.
• Technical Site Excursion: connect theoretical frameworks with real-world applications through an integrated on-site industry visit.

At the end of the module, a multiple-choice questionnaire (pass/fail) is available, if you would like to receive ECTS credits. The module can be allocated to the CAS Circular Economy for Laboratories within three years. If you have successfully completed all SAS of this CAS programme and wish to receive the Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS), please contact us for the final assignment.

The following programme admission requirements apply:

• Tertiary A: Higher education qualification (at least a Bachelor’s degree) and at least 2 years’ practical experience relevant to the programme,
• Tertiary B: Colleges of Higher Education Diploma (HF), Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education (HFP) or Federal Diploma Higher Education (BP), and at least 5 years’ practical experience relevant to the programme,
• Individuals without a Tertiary A or B qualification may be admitted if they cumulatively meet the following admission criteria:
• at least 10 years’ professional experience in a field relevant to the programme, of which at least 5 years in a managerial or senior specialist role
• additional qualifications (various non-formal, extensive further training courses or partial completion (>50%) of a tertiary qualification)
• evidence of knowledge of academic work or a willingness to acquire this in advance.