4 Ways to Use the Carbin Counter™ to Power Sustainable Science

The scientific community has long been aware of the environmental toll of fossil fuel consumption and single-use plastics, but awareness alone isn’t enough. Polycarbin’s Carbin Counter™ provides labs with the information needed to move beyond discussions and into measurable, impactful change.

The Carbin Counter™ allows labs to track, measure, and showcase their environmental impact accurately. Built on ISO 14040 & ISO 14044 certified Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), it provides trusted, evidence-based sustainability metrics. Providing visibility across your organization, from individual labs to entire facilities, the Carbin Counter™ simplifies the process of managing sustainability programs.

But the Carbin Counter™ isn’t just about numbers. It’s about translating data into action. Whether you’re tracking Scope 3 Emissions, looking to strengthen grant applications, or preparing corporate sustainability reports, labs rely on the Carbin Counter™ to demonstrate their progress and leadership.

This article highlights how organizations use the Carbin Counter™ to drive change, inspire their teams, and make meaningful strides toward a more sustainable future.

Tracking & Reporting on Sustainability Metrics

Tracking sustainability progress is vital for organizations working to meet internal goals and public commitments to decarbonization shared in yearly Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports. Whether it’s reducing CO2 emissions, diverting waste from landfills, or hitting other sustainability benchmarks, having verifiable and actionable data is key.

The Carbin Counter™ simplifies this process by providing real-time metrics that are easy to track, share, and interpret. Teams frequently mention how much easier it is not to manually weigh waste, track progress, and create reporting dashboards themselves. This real-time data on demand saves time and frees up resources that can be used to expand their sustainability efforts further.

The data from the Carbin Counter™ integrates seamlessly into weekly updates, quarterly reports, or CSR presentations, showcasing achievements like pounds of plastic diverted from landfills, total CO2 emissions reduced, and total fresh water conserved. By sharing ISO-compliant LCA data, organizations can demonstrate transparency and accountability to their stakeholders including talented knowledge workers they aim to recruit. 

With the Carbin Counter™, sustainability reporting shifts from a tedious task to a meaningful opportunity to highlight progress and leadership in environmental responsibility.

Competing for Grant Funding

Scientific innovation does not need to come at the expense of our planet. As sustainability becomes a key focus for funding agencies, labs are increasingly required to provide measurable evidence of their environmental impact in grant applications. Meeting these requirements means having reliable and verifiable data to demonstrate progress in reducing the environmental impact of science and overall sustainability efforts.

Polycarbin’s Carbin Counter™ delivers exactly that. With metrics grounded in ISO-certified, third-party verified Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), labs can confidently present data that validates their efforts. This information helps labs stand out in competitive funding environments by aligning their efforts with the priorities of organizations like the NIH.

Many labs have already used the Carbin Counter™ to strengthen their grant applications, showcasing their commitment to evidence-based sustainability. These insights enhance funding prospects and establish labs as leaders in environmental stewardship. By using the Carbin Counter™, labs can meet the increasing demands of grant funders and further their own sustainability goals.

Building a More Sustainable Culture

For most scientists, there’s a tension between wanting to make a positive impact through their work and the heavy environmental toll of lab operations. The Carbin Counter™ helps bridge that gap by empowering teams to see their progress, fostering a culture of sustainability.

This shared purpose then drives engagement to tackle even larger sustainability challenges. Zac Simon, Associate Director of Environmental Health and Safety at The Institute for Systems Biology (ISB), shared how implementing Polycarbin’s programs inspired his team to aim higher. 

“Seeing how easy it is to implement something like Polycarbin’s recycling program started to generate buy-in for the bigger, more challenging initiatives,” he explained. For example, his team took on the daunting task of cleaning and itemizing their 36 ultra-low freezers—an effort that initially seemed like a tough sell. However, once his team saw the commitment to sustainability and realized its results, they were more willing to take on ambitious projects.

The Carbin Counter™ plays a key role in this cultural shift by giving Sustainability Leads an easy way to show real-time progress internally. Its dashboard highlights tangible metrics, like waste diverted or sustainability milestones achieved, reinforcing the team’s efforts and showing how individual contributions add up to something bigger. Recognizing these wins in real time helps build momentum and encourages teams to take on even larger goals.

Telling Your Story: Marketing and PR

Sustainability is a powerful engagement tool for attracting talent, investors, and stakeholders. Scientists, in particular, are drawn to organizations that demonstrate a strong commitment to environmental responsibility, making it a key differentiator in recruitment and retention. 

As Sam Chan from the University of Pittsburgh’s Sustainability Team shared, “Researchers care. They want to make the world a better place. Whether advancing science or medicine, they know how much material is going through their labs to do that work. As a result, they're eager to make it better to make the world better.” Similarly, investors and partners increasingly prioritize businesses that align with environmental and social governance (ESG) principles.

The Carbin Counter™ enables organizations to showcase their sustainability efforts with confidence. By transforming lab achievements into compelling, data-driven narratives, it provides content for social media, press releases, Earth Month recaps, and other outreach efforts. Labs can use these verified metrics to highlight their commitment to responsible science, positioning themselves as leaders in sustainability.

Sharing these results goes beyond marketing—it builds trust. By demonstrating transparency and accountability through the evidence-based Carbin Counter™ data, labs attract stakeholders who value meaningful action. This strengthens public perception and underscores the lab’s role as a forward-thinking organization contributing to a more sustainable future.

The Carbin Counter™ isn’t just a tool for tracking your lab’s sustainability—it’s a way to turn your efforts into meaningful action. From simplifying reporting and securing grants to inspiring teams and earning trust, it equips labs with the data they need to lead in sustainability. With the Carbin Counter™, you can share your progress, strengthen your impact, and show the world what your lab stands for. 

Ready to see how it can make a difference? Contact us today for a consultation and learn how your lab can be part of the Polycarbin mission and help make science more sustainable! Together, we can close the loop on single-use scientific plastics.