Green Labs Action Plan
Green Labs 2024 Action Plan
Download our Complete Action Plan here including our implementation strategy and targeted goals, or scroll down for Green Labs plans for 2024!
Green Labs 2024 Action Plan
The Green Lab Action Plan aims to provide a framework for Caltech to achieve climate and sustainability goals. The Institute has committed to supporting sustainable practices, including facilitating the Green Labs in their endeavour to make labs more sustainable and efficient.
Green Labs supports Caltech's sustainability commitments. As labs are estimated to produce over 5.5 million tons of plastic waste a year, it is increasingly important for labs to become more sustainable. To meet this goal, Green Labs is promoting reduction, reuse, and recycle programs for plastics and other types of waste in labs on campus, as well as green chemistry to reduce the hazardous waste production in the Institute. Green Labs also supports Caltech's goals to reduce emissions from fossil fuel combustion, commuters, and travel. Further, Green Labs supports efforts to reduce water usage on campus by recycling water where possible, changing flora on campus to be more water-friendly, and reducing lab burden on water through actions like only running autoclaves when loads are full. Other actions Green Labs aims to support include sustainable purchasing, encouraging all of Caltech to purchase items such as 100% recycled office supplies, and working with vendors to reduce the cost of sustainable consumables and equipment such as ultra-low-temperature freezers.
Green Labs aims to focus on developing behavioural changes throughout campus by providing resources and Guides with helpful and targeted information in six key areas: 1. Energy Efficiency, 2. Water Conservation, 3. Waste Reduction, 4. Sustainable Procurement, 5. Communications and Outreach, and 6. Resource Development. As this is the first Action Plan developed for Green Labs, this document will help serve as a guide for Caltech to develop sustainable laboratory practices without compromising scientific integrity. Implementation will require engagement of the entire campus, and will bridge work done by the Biosafety Offices, Health and Safety Offices, Facilities, Sustainability, and the Resnick Institute. This allows normalization of sustainable practices while increasing the safety, efficiency, and sustainability throughout the entire campus.
As biologists, we are challenged to protect our environment and advocate for sustainable practices to protect the very thing we study: life on Earth. Caltech Green Labs aims to meet this challenge by proposing lab practices that are energy efficient and resource efficient, without compromising research objectives. This group aims to create an equitable and inclusive space, where we can incentivise a discussion among staff, students, and faculty, and utilize their talents to promote innovation and normalization of sustainable laboratory practices. The Caltech Green Labs group ultimately aspires to be a resource for sustainable lab practices including energy efficiency, water conservation, green chemistry, waste management, sustainable purchasing, and sustainable education. These resources will strengthen the Caltech community and further the Institute's goal to positively impact the community at large.
Goals:
- Demonstrate Caltech's commitment to promote sustainable and inclusive environment
- Work with BBE and Caltech to better integrate and adopt sustainable practices, especially in research groups
- Improve general knowledge and transparency of existing campus sustainable practices and resources
- Increase awareness, advocacy, and education about sustainable initiatives and best practices
- Participate in sustainable events held on Caltech campus
- Establish a Green Labs website
- Develop a Green Labs Guide
- Pilot sustainable initiatives within appropriate research groups and report findings
- Decrease energy and water usage
- Reduce waste production, especially of single-use plastics in labs
- Decrease hazardous waste production and promote innovation by engaging in green chemistry
- Encourage sustainable purchasing
Green Labs encourages all labs to participate and be recognized as champions of sustainability. In this way, participants will not only be benefiting the environment, but will also be making their labs more innovative, efficient, cost-effective, and safe. Participating labs will gain greater access to resources and networks dedicated to sustainability. Green Labs members will also be able to assess their labs with comprehensive tools that provide greater understanding of how your lab works, evaluate where your lab is already achieving sustainability goals, and assess areas where your lab has the potential to become more efficient and sustainable.
Interested labs are assessed through an easy survey, with points given for sustainable practices. This informs your lab's initial Green Lab Score. After various categories are assessed for strength or weakness, labs are encouraged to make adjustments. Once adjustments have been completed, labs are scored again, and this final assessment informs your final Green Labs Certification Score. When you submit your final assessment, your lab is given a "Certified Green Lab" plaque!
In January 2023, we began our Certification journey with just 2 labs Certified. As of January 2024, there were 14 labs Certified, with that number growing every month!
Benefits of voluntary participation:
- Access to exclusive events
- Free recycling bins and energy-efficiency stickers
- Reduce overhead costs
- Increase research efficiency
- Reduce carbon footprint and pollution
- Recognition for sustainability efforts on grants
- Strengthen team building and community
- Prolong equipment life
- Greater access to sustainability resources and funding
- Recognition as lab sustainability champion
- Increase scientific innovation
- Enhance lab visibility and attractiveness to students
Green Labs aims to outline an Action Plan for each of the following six areas of interest:
- Energy Efficiency
- Water Conservation
- Waste Reduction
- Sustainable Procurement
- Outreach and Recruitment
- Resource Development
This plan establishes achievable Action Items, Implementation Strategies, and Targeted Goals for each area of interest.
In setting out goals for this year, Green Labs seeks to better provide actionable ways for Caltech labs to improve their sustainable practices. By focusing on simple, often inexpensive, behavioural changes or practices, Green Labs aims to increase innovation, safety, and efficiency, all without compromising research goals.
Each strategy outlined in this Action Plan will be implemented and monitored by Green Labs. This group is focused on changing behaviour in laboratories on campus to encourage normalization of eco-friendly lab practices and culture at Caltech. Each data-driven Action Item will be assessed and reported to the Caltech community.
Progress and updates will be reported annually to the Sustainability Office. Each Action Item will be evaluated for success, and advice will be given as needed, in future years as to how to improve.
Energy Efficiency Action Items
1. Establish a fume hood “Shut the Sash” or Motion and Sash Height sensor program [continued from 2023], including conducting a survey of fume hoods and calculating energy usage, purchasing stickers to aid in this program, investigate sash alarms, and develop educational tools (including "how-tos" for cleaning and how to safely use a fume hood). [Work continued from 2023].
2. Engage the community in the International Freezer Challenge and other educational programming to encourage more efficient freezer utilization and optimization. We will also create a freezer defrost package (including freezer gloves, scrapers, etc.), and develop an inventory of samples currently held at -70 C (including those in our -70 C/-80 C comparison pilot) to encourage users to adjust sample storage temperature to -70 C (which has an estimated 30% energy savings!). This action item will also include collecting data on how many freezers Caltech houses, posting signage about the Freezer Challenge, and creating slides for users to present to their lab for educational purposes. [Work continued from 2023].
3. Development of energy usage education tools. This action item includes collecting resources and tools for labs to calculate their average energy usage, and the educational tools we develop will work to encourage users to develop more efficient energy usage in their labs.
4. Investigate usefulness of outlet timers to reduce energy usage during times when equipment may be turned off (for example: a timer would turn off water baths at night and turn them on again at a time designated the following morning that ensures an ample warming up period before people arrive). [Work continued from 2023].
Water Conservation Action Items
1. Investigate utilization of water restrictors for taps in lab spaces, including collecting resources about energy savings and risks associated with utilizing water restrictors, water usage measurements before and after installation, and creating an inventory of water restrictors to aid facilities. [work continued from 2023]
2. Investigate autoclave usage behaviours and identify areas where labs could be encouraged to use autoclaves only when full, only once a week instead of multiple times, and/or share an autoclave with another lab. Inventory autoclaves and develop database of users of each autoclave. Develop signage about solenoids, how to identify if they are broken, and how to replace them.
Waste Reduction Action Items
1. Increase access to recycling programs and transparency of current waste diversion practices across campus. This will include collecting resources about recycling, working with vendors to develop takeback or recycling programs, working with facilities to develop strategies about recycling lab waste, and asking Caltech to provide a detailed and transparent accounting of current waste practices.
2. Develop a styrofoam and ice pack recycling program including investigations into where recycling/share points are most needed, whether a recycling program is feasible, establishing a petition to encourage a permanent program for recycling, asking Caltech to adjust language on vendor contracts to restrict Styrofoam and ice pack reliance.
3. Encourage sustainable food options at BBE and lab functions. This will include investigating what kinds of foods are preferred at BBE and lab functions, and investigating sustainable food alternatives. We can continue updating the Restaurant Guide documents we have already with these suggestions. [Work continues from 2023].
4. Investigate reuse or reduction of lab consumable programs (for example: washing pipette tips, conical tubes, etc. for reuse).
Sustainable Procurement Action Items
1. Develop educational tools. This will include collecting resources and developing sustainable purchasing Guides based on lab requirements. We can also investigate strategies for wet labs, dry labs, and teaching labs. We will work with procurement to develop strategies to encourage sustainable purchasing.
2. Conduct vendor outreach and throw event(s) with vendors known for sustainable products. We will work to engage vendors to run eco-friendly events, and will work with procurement to have an event focused on eco-friendly purchasing.
3. Investigate vendor incentive programs and opportunities for sustainable purchasing (including of products that may be more expensive than traditional products).
4. Expand the glassware, equipment, and chemical share program (perhaps in the form of an email listserv similar to Marketplace). We would like to poll purchasers on what kind of equipment they would prefer to share and develop a tool/program that serves those needs.
Communications and Outreach Action Items
1. Work on outreach, including writing newsletters for the BBE quarterly email, IonCaltech, and Caltech Weekly, posting newsletters and resources on the Green Labs Website, and investigate other outreach avenues. [Work continued from 2023].
2. Promote Green Labs Certification Program by encouraging the submission of the quick assessment scorecard, and assess the scorecard tool to improve follow-through of submissions. [Work continues from 2023].
3. Develop a re-engagement program for Certified labs. This program will assess how labs are doing, and if there are areas where they wish to improve. We will also encourage participation for specific sustainability goals, where each task a lab engages in will be rewarded.
4. Hosting events and presentations for engaging our community, and to help us grow our listserv and numbers of people we interact with. We would like to engage PIs, staff, graduate students, and post-docs more effectively.
Resource Development Action Items
1. Continue updating our website. This includes the consolidation of relevant resources that is user-friendly and easily accessible to everyone at Caltech (including the Action Plan, Green Labs Guide, newsletters, signage, meeting minutes, calendar events, resources etc). [Work continues from 2023].
2. Develop an Action Plan including relevant areas of interest and our plans for implementing such plans for 2024.
3. Develop Fact Sheets. We will investigate areas where labs need more information and pull together resources that can be posted on the website as Fact Sheets, slides, etc.
4. Update the Green Labs Guide to inform researchers of (often free!) simple tips and tricks to make their labs more sustainable.
4. Update Recycling Signage for labs.
5. Hire a full-time Green Labs Coordinator. We will ask the Sustainability Council, BBE, and other Divisions to set aside funding for such a role, as this employee would work with all Divisions, EHS, security, procurement, new faculty etc., to encourage the growth and staying power of Green Labs initiatives. [Work continues from 2023].
Special Thanks
Green Labs has so many people to thank for the development of not only this document, but countless other projects! Thank you thank you thank you, for all of your passion, dedication, photographs, creativity, and, most importantly, time. This program would not exist without you.
Division of Biology and Biological Engineering
Caltech Biosafety Offices
Caltech Health and Safety
Caltech Facilities
OLAR
IACUC
Maximilian Christman - Caltech Sustainability Offices
Chen Institute
Caltech Procurement
Women in BBE (WiBBE)
Genesee
USA Scientific
Graduate Student's Association (GSA)
Carrie Metzgar – University of California Irvine
Kathryn Ann Ramirez Aguilar – University of Colorado Boulder
Jaasiel Alvarez – Project Lead
Tasha Cammidge – Writer and Project Lead
Camille Chossis – Project Lead
Gerard Coughlin – Photographer
Jasmine Emtage - Photographer
Brianna Garcia - Photographer
Yvette Garcia-Flores – Project Lead
Vijaya Kumar – Editor, photographer, and Project Lead
James Linton – Project Lead
Kate Malecek – Project Lead
Tatiana Solovieva – Project Lead
Giada Spigolon – Project Lead
Honami Tanaka – Project Lead
Sarah Torres – Editor and Project Lead