Green Labs Events
Are you hosting an event? Make it a sustainable one!
Click here for tips and tricks to make your event more sustainable.
Check out our Sustainable Restaurants Guide here! We are updating this Guide periodically, so check back for more sustainable restaurant ideas!
Check out our Sustainable Coffee/Breakfast/Dessert Guide here!
Click here for a Sustainable Event Vendor Agreement, asking vendors to be sustainable when they are on campus or are participating in events at Caltech.
Going away for the holidays? Check out our Holiday Checklist to ensure you aren't wasting energy or water during your break! Have a safe and enjoyable holiday!
Green Labs ReStore Hours Change
Come visit the Lab ReStore located at Alles 181 during our limited hours and pick up lab items for FREE.
Winter term hours: Monday 9am - 5pm.
Note: hours change every term depending on student schedules.
You can also visit the the online Green Labs Marketplace to see what we have, or use this Form to submit your donations.
Stay tuned for more updates on sustainable purchasing as we grow our Marketplace and resources!
Green Labs Annual Lightning Talks Event
Sustainability and Green Labs are hosting a ton of events for Earth Month! One of these events is our annual zero-waste Lightning Talks Event (tentatively) April 22nd in Chen 100 from 12:30-3 (talks start at 1pm), where we are inviting labs to give 3-minute talks highlighting sustainable initiatives their labs have or would like to implement. We are providing food, drinks, and sustainable giveaways for attendees and giving RocketBooks (sustainable notebooks) or other great prizes to our presenters. If you would like to attend or present at this event, please use the link here to RSVP!
Check back here to see what other events are happening in April for Earth Month!
Green Labs Certification Celebration
Green Labs is challenging labs to finish their Green Labs Certification by April 30th. If your lab is certified by that day, your lab will be invited to come enjoy a holiday treat on us to celebrate your sustainability excellence!
To get certified, finish the easy, 30-minute Green Labs Certification and submit it to [email protected].
Upon submission your lab will become Green Labs Certified! Your lab will be awarded a brag-worthy Green Labs Certified plaque to post outside your lab spaces. Labs that complete the Green Labs Certification can also expect to receive support from Green Labs, the division, as well as select vendors. Certified labs also have access to items such as free recycling bins, signage, exclusive Green Labs events, AND a free recycling program for lab plastics such as pipette tips, conical tubes, and more!
Green Labs -70/-80 Comparison Call for Samples
Green Labs is calling for samples for a student-led study comparing samples held at -20˚C, -70˚C and -80˚C in the Chen Freezer Farm.
Samples from various labs will be tested and compared at intervals over a period of up to 5 years.
We hope that by conducting a controlled study at Caltech, we can provide evidence for labs to change their -80 ˚C freezers to -70 ˚C, ensuring an energy savings of up to 30%! This "chill-up" will also reduce the number of defrosts your freezer requires each year, and reduces the wear and tear on your freezer! Here are some additional resources suggesting that -70 ˚C is a safe storage temperature for many kinds of samples.
If you are interested in contributing a sample, please email us at [email protected] or fill our this Google Form!
Green Labs Annual Lab Spring Cleanup Event
Green Labs is hosting a Lab Spring Clean Event From January through April! Participants will compete to clean their labs from top to bottom by cleaning our freezers, organizing storage spaces, taking inventory of lab supplies, and much more! Green Labs is providing lots of resources, including magnets, laminated freezer checklists, chore suggestion lists, freezer inventory spreadsheets, and much much more!
Each participating lab will provide before and after pictures of their cleanup by midnight April 30 to [email protected]. Prizes will be given for two categories: the biggest before and after difference, and for the "weirdest thing found".
In May, after the competition ends, Green Labs will invite all participating labs to have a sustainable lunch on us!
RSVP your lab by April 30! All Labs are welcome!
Green Labs Freezer Challenge (January 1 - July 1)
Green Labs is supporting participation in the International Freezer Challenge from January 1 to July 1. Here are some resources about why setting your ultra-low temperature freezer to -80 °C may not be necessary. Download the poster here.
You can register at My Green Labs. My Green Labs will present awards to those labs and research organizations who have gone above and beyond to save on energy usage while improving sample storage. We can win many amazing prizes, including funding for our program!
Green Labs will also host a Popsicle party during the summer months to celebrate the labs who participated in this fantastic initiative.