The UNMC Office of Sustainability is announcing the official launch of the Green Labs Program, following success of its recent pilot initiative.
The green labs pilot program concluded in November, with 16 labs signing up, seven submitting baseline scorecards and six submitting final scorecards. The participation exceeded expectations, allowing the UNMC Office of Sustainability to garner meaningful and encouraging feedback toward making research at the med center more sustainable.
Between May 2024 and November 2024, the program tested a novel process to support labs in optimizing their energy and water consumption, while also exploring ways to increase waste diversion and green purchasing. Participating labs were required to fill out an initial scorecard to establish a baseline measurement of the lab’s impact on resources and a final scorecard that reflected the various sustainability strategies labs implemented during the pilot.
Labs implemented sustainable practices such as performing cold storage preventative maintenance, adjusting lab sink flow rates and recycling gloves. By completing scorecard strategies, labs earned certification levels, allowing them to display badges in their labs and email signatures.
UNMC research labs that achieved certification levels are as follows (green indicates successful completion of 80% of available credits, silver 40%):
- Mirnics-Korade Lab – Green
- Gilk Lab – Green
- Ouellette Lab – Green
- Peeples Lab – Green
- Bayles Lab – Silver
- Augusto Lab – Silver
According to program estimates, the six labs that completed the pilot reduced their energy usage by an average of 15%, which is equivalent to avoiding 12 metric tons of CO2 emissions, or the same amount of emissions from about three homes’ annual electricity use.
Encouraged by these findings, the UNMC Office of Sustainability is scaling up and expanding the program across more departments, with a goal of fostering a culture of sustainability in research that supports campus and University of Nebraska System sustainability goals. Targets include engaging at least 10 new labs in the program and having at least five labs participate in the International Freezer Challenge.
Click here to fill out the interest form for the lab, and the UNMC Office of Sustainability will be in contact to get the process started.
Researchers can enter their lab in this year’s International Freezer Challenge if they are interested in energy reduction opportunities but aren’t ready to commit to the Green Labs Program.