University of California, Riverside
IN-2: Innovation 2

Laboratories may only occupy 1/2 of campus floor space, but they consume 3/4 of campus energy, waste excessive amounts of potable water and generate an increasing waste flow that ends up in landfills. The Green Lab program aim for assisting researchers on campus in reducing their environmental impact, while improving safety, encouraging best practices in laboratory management, and promoting inter-lab communication and resource sharing. UCR has more than 900 laboratories on campus, which typically consume 5 times more energy than classroom or office space. The UCR Green Lab Program develops communication campaigns for behavior change to minimize energy use, water, and material goods use without compromising research integrity or efficiency. It also encourages the development of energy efficient equipment with scientific companies and seek for funding to incentive retrofit that can save energy as well as water.

Many outcomes can measured from the Green Lab Program. Lab equipment are metered before and after the green lab implementation, so that the saving can be calculated in kWh/year. For example, regular and energy efficient ULT freezers are monitored to allow verification and help the promotion of new energy efficient model on the market. Water consumer equipment such as autoclaves are also metered to first understand how much water they use and then validate more water efficient alternative. Recycling is also implemented in labs and each recyclable bag is weighted as well as Styrofoam coolers counted to quantify the amount of waste diverted from landfill.