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Abstract
Leadership in sustainability research, education and service is a hallmark of UGA’s 2020 Strategic Plan. The Associate Vice President for Research Compliance, Associate Vice President for Environmental Safety, and the Director of Sustainability charged the Green Labs Task Force to develop recommendations for a Green Labs Program to reduce energy, water and waste while enhancing safety and environmental compliance in approximately 2,000 laboratories at UGA. The proposed UGA Green Labs Program is designed to promote and support world-class science by engaging researchers in best practices to enhance safety, conserve resources, and reduce waste.
The University of Georgia has an opportunity for leadership among its peer and aspirational institutions with a robust Green Labs Program. Of UGA’s 12 aspirational institutions, half have green labs programs, while only three of UGA’s 12 peer institutions do. The UGA Green Labs Program proposed in this report will educate our future scientists in sustainable laboratory practices, enhance the safety of research and trades personnel, and reduce hazardous waste disposal, landfilled waste, and operating costs for the university.
This report proposes initiatives in Energy and Water, Waste Reduction and Recycling, and Green Chemistry and Safety. The list of initiatives is not exhaustive, but rather low hanging fruit with demonstrable economic benefits and/or significant safety and environmental benefits. Some initiatives would be opt-in for labs that seek Green Labs certification, while others would be implemented in the
background by FMD, OVPR, and ESD. The initiatives described herein represent an annual potential reduction of at least $187,000 in energy, water, and waste disposal costs.
Proposed Energy and Water initiatives include a Shut the Sash campaign for fume hoods, fume hood hibernation, refined fume hood face velocity test protocols, “Chill Up” campaign for ultra low temperature freezers, refrigeration equipment repair tracking, equipment trade-in incentives, a cold room upgrade program, and autoclave leak detection. These initiatives have the potential to save over $166,000 in annual energy and water costs.
Proposed Waste Reduction and Recycling initiatives include laboratory plastics recycling, composting animal cage bedding, and purchasing guidelines for reduced packaging. These initiatives have the potential to save over $12,600 in landfill tipping fees.
Proposed Green Chemistry and Safety initiatives include chemical substitution and chemical sharing, both aimed at reducing UGA’s costly annual hazardous waste disposal. These initiatives have the potential to save over $8,000 in hazardous waste disposal costs.
The UGA Green Labs Program should be led by someone experienced with the pertinent regulatory and technical issues that the proposed initiatives address. The Green Labs Task Force recommends that UGA create a full-time coordinator position to manage the program, housed in OVPR with support from ESD and FMD. Alternatively, the program could be housed in the Office of Sustainability (FMD) with support from OVPR and ESD. The Task Force should remain intact to support the Green Labs Program Coordinator position, and to guide the program in the interim before the position is created.
The University of Georgia has an opportunity for leadership among its peer and aspirational institutions with a robust Green Labs Program. Of UGA’s 12 aspirational institutions, half have green labs programs, while only three of UGA’s 12 peer institutions do. The UGA Green Labs Program proposed in this report will educate our future scientists in sustainable laboratory practices, enhance the safety of research and trades personnel, and reduce hazardous waste disposal, landfilled waste, and operating costs for the university.
This report proposes initiatives in Energy and Water, Waste Reduction and Recycling, and Green Chemistry and Safety. The list of initiatives is not exhaustive, but rather low hanging fruit with demonstrable economic benefits and/or significant safety and environmental benefits. Some initiatives would be opt-in for labs that seek Green Labs certification, while others would be implemented in the
background by FMD, OVPR, and ESD. The initiatives described herein represent an annual potential reduction of at least $187,000 in energy, water, and waste disposal costs.
Proposed Energy and Water initiatives include a Shut the Sash campaign for fume hoods, fume hood hibernation, refined fume hood face velocity test protocols, “Chill Up” campaign for ultra low temperature freezers, refrigeration equipment repair tracking, equipment trade-in incentives, a cold room upgrade program, and autoclave leak detection. These initiatives have the potential to save over $166,000 in annual energy and water costs.
Proposed Waste Reduction and Recycling initiatives include laboratory plastics recycling, composting animal cage bedding, and purchasing guidelines for reduced packaging. These initiatives have the potential to save over $12,600 in landfill tipping fees.
Proposed Green Chemistry and Safety initiatives include chemical substitution and chemical sharing, both aimed at reducing UGA’s costly annual hazardous waste disposal. These initiatives have the potential to save over $8,000 in hazardous waste disposal costs.
The UGA Green Labs Program should be led by someone experienced with the pertinent regulatory and technical issues that the proposed initiatives address. The Green Labs Task Force recommends that UGA create a full-time coordinator position to manage the program, housed in OVPR with support from ESD and FMD. Alternatively, the program could be housed in the Office of Sustainability (FMD) with support from OVPR and ESD. The Task Force should remain intact to support the Green Labs Program Coordinator position, and to guide the program in the interim before the position is created.