Assessments, Tools, and Programs

​In grant proposals, include your participation in programs, assessments, and certifications which demonstrate your commitment to efficiency and sustainability. 

Suggestions:

Your research group and research institution can participate in programs, assessments, and certifications that can be highlighted in proposals demonstrating commitments to efficiency and sustainability. For example:

  1. Laboratory assessments for efficiency such a certification program that your institution may have in place through a green lab program or this comprehensive My Green Lab certification open and available to any institution or individual lab.
  2. The Smart Labs Toolkit and Program which was put together by the Department of Energy (DOE) in collaboration with the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) based on proven success of the program by the University of California Irvine.  This free toolkit provides a roadmap for improving laboratory ventilation for large energy savings and safety benefits.  It also contains a section on scientists engagement. Additional resources can be found at this University of California Irvine website. 
  3. ​Participation in a green labs program at your institution working to improve efficient use of laboratory space/equipment, reduce energy/water usage, and minimize laboratory solid & hazardous waste.  If your institution or campus does not yet have a green labs program, then pull a group together to champion creation of such as program.  Many existing green labs programs would be happy to share tips and advice for starting such programs, including the CU Boulder Green Labs Program. 
  4. Participation in the annual  International Laboratory Freezer Challenge
  5. Other programs that your campus may have in place to address laboratory building energy consumption.  The ​Laboratory Benchmarking Tool put together through a collaborative effort between the I2SL community and DOE can be used to compare the energy use of your lab buildings with that of similar facilities in the US. The tool's peer-group database contains owner-submitted data from an ever-growing number of lab facilities.

Example language for grant proposals on the CU Boulder Green Labs Program: 

​​The Green Labs Program aids scientists and the CU Boulder campus with efficiency in research labs for the benefit of maximizing the impact of sponsor research dollars, minimizing overhead costs necessary to support research, and reducing the environmental and social footprint of laboratory research.  Through scientist engagement, collaboration, and other means the program is reducing equipment duplication on campus and improving scientist access to equipment resources by fostering a cultural shift towards more managed, shared equipment resources and by contributing to improvements on campus that enable connections between scientists with similar equipment needs and bolster the number of pieces of equipment available for sharing.  When equipment purchases are necessary, the program offers support with the selection of energy and water efficient research equipment (where possible) to help keep campus utility usage and related infrastructure needs down. The program also provides numerous other benefits such as recycling opportunities to divert lab specific waste from the landfill and education about efficient laboratory operations/processes.  Overall the program strives to connect the need for care of planet and people with the need to accomplish more within existing research and university budgets.