University of California, Santa Barbara
IN-19: Green Laboratory Program

LabRATS (Laboratory Resources, Advocates, and Teamwork for Sustainability) is a branch of UCSB Sustainability focused on creating sustainable habits for on-campus laboratory spaces. Through the LabSYNC Certification process, LabRATS works with laboratories to assess, rate, and give feedback on their sustainability efforts. LabRATS collaborates with Procurement at UCSB to ensure that the purchase of laboratory appliances will provide the most energy savings available at a reasonable price. For water conservation, they replace single-pass cooling systems to both prevent flooding risk and reduce the quantity of water used to cool common reactions. LabRATS also works closely Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) to create safe habits in laboratories and reduce the amount of hazardous waste produced. They ensure that chemicals are properly disposed of through EH&S’s Hazardous Waste Pickup Program or with other appropriate disposal methods. Additionally, LabRATS trains laboratory researchers on safe, sustainable habits and provides them with resources with which they can further their sustainability practices. Labrats also provides trainings and materials for material management, including green procurement guidelines and other sustainable procurement resources.