Green Your Lab

Turn off the lights when the last person leaves the lab.

Lighting makes up around 15% of energy in the lab. Simply turning off the lights when you leave the lab can have a significant impact.

Turning off the lights during the day when ambient light is sufficient can even further reduce energy consumption.

Defrost, de-clutter and clean filters regularly.

Adjusting an ultra-low freezer from -80 to -70 can save 30-40% on energy and extend freezer life.

Turn the water off when it doesn’t need to be running!

If you’re washing glassware or filling up your flasks with water, a common practice may be to walk away while the faucet is running. This can lead to unnecessary overflow. Instead, always keep your eyes on a running water source.

Alternatively, consider a timed water valve that runs for a certain amount of time or only discharges a certain amount of water, or install foot petals so you’re only pumping water when needed.

Autoclaves can use as much as 60 gallons of water per cycle. To help conserve water, consolidate loads for the autoclave and run it only when full.

Don’t overload it, but don’t run it to sterilize a single box of pipette tips either.

Implement proper maintenance schedules to reduce water consumption per cycle.

Spreading E. coli on agar plates is a common technique, but it doesn’t have to involve plastic.

Use glass or metal spreaders instead—both are easy to sterilize and reuse.

Avoid over-purchasing chemicals and reduce the amount of chemical waste in your lab by maintaining an up-to-date chemical inventory log of all of the chemicals in the lab.

Make the log available to all lab members to help save time, money and space!

Harness the power of collective action and share your knowledge with those around you.

Try kicking off lab meetings with a “Green Minute.” Use this time to share a quick tip, spotlight a sustainable action someone took or introduce a new eco-friendly practice. It’s a small habit that builds awareness, encourages conversation, and keeps momentum going, one minute at a time.

When motivated by energetic and passionate individuals, a confident community forms – one that works towards and achieves collective goals.

After all ... sustainability isn’t a side task, it’s a shared mindset!