GREEN LAB: la Medicina di Laboratorio e la sostenibilità. Un'introduzione

The medical world is involved in the urgency of the ecological transition also from a regulatory and certification point of view. For Laboratory Medicine, the topic of environmental sustainability was addressed in Europe by European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) in the 2022 Third Strategic Conference. Its Green and Sustainable Laboratories Task Force also published a Booklet with recommendations for chemicals, energy, water, and waste. There are many theoretical and practical suggestions, often aimed at the construction of new SMART and GREEN laboratories and involving many stakeholders. However, there are preliminary actions for sustainability that can be pursued immediately by all laboratories: dematerialization with the interoperability of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems; risk management and quality assurance through ISO 15189 accreditation and the application of Total Quality Management (TQM); efficiency and the hunt for waste with the application of the LEAN vision to laboratories. Awareness of the practicability of interventions should be supported by adequate educational activities.