Green Lab Resources

Labconscious

Labconscious is an open resource for the life science community to reduce laboratory waste, use green chemistry, conserve water and save energy.

The EPA Sustainable Facilities Tool for Laboratory

This interactive tool allows users to compare sustainable strategies and materials for a variety of lab systems and spaces.

Reduce Laboratory Energy Use: US Dept of Energy Better Buildings Toolkit

This toolkit provides guidance and strategies for reducing energy consumption in laboratories.

My Green Lab

My Green Lab is a non-profit organization with a mission to build a culture of sustainability through science. Their programs help scientists to reduce the environmental impact of their work and gather data on sustainable best practices to provide the scientific basis for greening the culture of science labs.

ACT: The Environmental Impact Factor Label

The ACT label is like an eco-nutrition label for lab products, providing information about the environmental impact of manufacturing, using, and disposing of a product and its packaging.

Center for Energy Efficient Laboratories (CEEL)

CEEL works with scientists, laboratory equipment manufacturers, facility managers, and utility companies to identify opportunities for energy efficiency in laboratories. Their studies on Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers were used to establish an ENERGY STAR standard for ULT freezers.

Green Chemistry

Green chemistry is the selection of less hazardous, more sustainable chemicals, and/or the design of protocols involving chemicals that aim to reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances.

• Green Chemistry Experiments for Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Labs
• ACS Solvent Selection Tool:  Provides the ability to interactively select solvents based upon the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the solvent's physical properties.
• MilliporeSigma DOZN:  An online tool that identifies opportunities for green chemistry substitutions for individual chemicals and for chemical processes
• OSHA - Transitioning to Safer Chemicals: A methodology for identifying safer alternatives
• Michigan Green Chemistry Clearinghouse:  A list of excellent resources to identify hazardous materials and more benign alternatives
• Beyond Benign provides educators with the tools, training and support to make green chemistry an integral part of chemistry education.
• Virtual resources for delivering green chemistry education
• American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute Online education resources for Green Chemistry & Engineering
• Fact Sheet: Solvent Alternatives offers suggestions for selection of solvents for use in chemical reactions, extractions, and purifications in chemical research labs.

Freezer Challenge

The International Laboratory Freezer Challenge (Freezer Challenge) is a competition designed to promote best practices in cold storage management.

WaterSense at Work: Best Management Practices for Commercial and Institutional Facilities

Section 7 of this US EPA document provides an overview of and guidance for effectively reducing the water use of water purification, vacuum pumps, steam sterilizers, glassware washers and more.

CSU Resources:

CSU Green Lab Program

CSU Office of Sustainability

CSU Office of Environmental Health and Safety

• EHS Chemical Storage: Practices for Proper Chemical Storage
• EHS Laboratory Safety
• EHS Research Safety

CSU Facilities Services

CSU Recycling

Learn more:

CSU Green Lab program

CSU Shut the Sash campaign