QIAGEN’s Eco-Friendlier Products Earn Prestigious ACT Label

QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced that its recently launched, environmentally friendlier QIAwave nucleic-acid extraction kits have received the prestigious ACT Environmental Impact Factor Label from My Green Lab, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing sustainability in scientific research.

In awarding the ACT (Accountability, Consistency, and Transparency) labels, My Green Lab found that the three QIAwave products had a 35% improved Environmental Impact Factor when compared to QIAGEN’s standard kits, taking into account such criteria as, manufacturing impact reduction, responsible chemical management, product and packaging content as well as disposal of packaging.

QIAGEN launched the QIAwave portfolio in January with the QIAwave RNA Mini Kit, QIAwave DNA Blood & Tissue Kit and QIAwave Plasmid Miniprep Kit. All are designed to use fewer components and produce less waste, and are the first such kits to use both recycled plastics and space-saving chemical concentrates. They represent the first wave of QIAGEN’s sustainability-driven product innovations and a major step in reducing the environmental impact of the company’s overall portfolio.

To date, My Green Lab has awarded the ACT label to more than 4,000 products across the global life sciences industry, with QIAGEN’s products the first nucleic-acid extraction kits to receive this stamp of approval from the respected independent arbiter. Going forward, QIAGEN will closely collaborate with the California-based organization to advance its Green Lab Certification Program, which aims to increase transparency around the environmental impact of research laboratories, and work toward certification of QIAGEN’s own research and development labs.

"My Green Lab puts the spotlight on companies to meet head-on the immense ecological challenges facing planet Earth," said Thomas Schweins, Senior Vice President and Head of QIAGEN’s Life Science Business Area. "We at QIAGEN take that challenge very seriously. Today’s recognition of our eco-friendlier kits is another proof-point of our commitment to sustainability and an important milestone in our campaign to significantly reduce the environmental impact of our entire product range."

QIAGEN aims to reduce plastic packaging waste by a further 9% in 2022, following a 9.6% reduction achieved in 2021. The company’s Plastic Footprint Task Force, founded in 2018, manages initiatives such as replacing expanded-polystyrene boxes for cooled shipments with recyclable alternatives. Beyond reducing its plastic footprint, QIAGEN has pledged to cut carbon emissions in line with the goal of reaching the Science Based Targets Net-Zero Standard by 2050, and constantly monitors its global environmental impact, economic influence and corporate citizenship. The sustainability agency ISS ESG has given QIAGEN its highest “Prime” rating.