Green Labs
The mission of the UCR’s Green Labs group is to promote the reduction of the energy and resource waste created by laboratories at UCR without disturbing the objectives of research. Green Labs works with lab managers, principal investigators, and lab staff workers to guide their laboratories into becoming energy efficient and sustainable.
The Mission
Currently, labs make up 75% of the energy use at UCR including water and carbon emissions. Our mission is to effectively reduce that percentage in an effort to save university costs and our environment. To do this, we will collaborate with labs on campus, educate them on sustainable efforts they can do to support a more sustainable workplace, and establish an efficient recycling program for the labs.
We aim to:
- Educate lab personnel on lab waste and sustainable agriculture
- Understand barriers to green lab practice
- Offer easy and effortless options to reduce waste with little buy-in from researchers
- Empower researchers to be strong advocates for sustainability
- Create lab space that promotes sustainable practices.
Our Initiatives
- Building wide interactive workshops for educating and discussing green labs and barriers to sustainable science
- Sustainable Science online modules in collaboration with EH&S
- Research Building recycling programs including all non-hazardous plastics, gloves, and styrofoam
- Green Labs certification program
- Reducing Material Waste (Sharing program, don’t buy in bulk)
- North American Freezer Challenge
- Freezer rebate programs
- Incentives and discounts for participants at every level!
Why Make Your Labs Green?
- Reduces waste, energy, and water consumption
- Improves environmental and personal health
- Prolongs equipment life and reduces equipment failures
- Saves money