User:DENpdWik/Draft:MyGreenLab

My Green Lab is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission "to build a global culture of sustainability in science" through educational programming, "challenges," and gathering/disseminating data on sustainable lab best practices and laboratory equipment resource consumption.

My Green Lab is notable for launching the most widely recognized green lab certification program in the world (with 900 labs across six contents carrying My Green Lab Certification as of 2022, 200 of which are in North America). The program was selected as a key indicator of progress by the UNFCCC Climate Conference for their High Level Climate Champions’ 2030 Breakthroughs campaign at COP26. My Green Labs was also instrumental in the creation of an ENERGY STAR® product category for laboratory -20°C laboratory freezers and ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers.

History

My Green Lab (MGL) was founded in 2013 in California by Allison Paradise. It began as a small organization with Paradise (who served as the organization’s Executive Director/CEO from 2013–2020) as the sole employee until 2017.

Paradise spent ten years doing lab research as neuroscientist before starting a global lab sustainability movement through My Green Lab. During her time in research, Paradise became aware of the outsized environmental impact laboratories have, discarding roughly twelve billion pounds of plastic annually while using five to ten times more energy, and four to ten times more water, than offices with comparable square footage. Only a fraction of this consumption is a requirement of research, with the rest being unnecessary waste arising from lab policy, outmoded practices, or unexamined habits. She founded MGL in order to create opportunities and provide researchers with the tools they need to increase lab sustainability and reduce the environmental impact of their research. (Paradise has spoken extensively about her motivations for increasing lab sustainability, including the TEDx talk "Our Little World" and at the 2019 Women In Cleantech and Sustainability conference.)

By 2019 MGL had three full-time employees. In 2022, MGL's website lists 12 employees.

ENERGY STAR for lab products

In 2015 MGL authored the first comprehensive report on the opportunities for energy efficiency in laboratories for the California Energy Commission. This project was jointly funded by Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric utility companies as part of their Emerging Technologies program. Published under the auspices of the Center for Energy Efficient Laboratories (or CEEL, a partnership between MGL, kW Engineering, and the Food Service Technology Center of Frontier Energy, the report found that laboratories in California consumed an estimated 800 GWh/year. The report also identified ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers as one of the largest energy consumers in laboratories.

This finding led to a subsequent report, again funded by PG&E, SCE and SDG&E. In 2016, MGL was the lead investigator and author in a CEEL study examining the energy consumption of popular ULT freezer models. This study led to the creation of an ENERGY STAR product category for laboratory ULT freezers and the development of ULT freezer rebates through the California utility companies. Other utility companies, including Eversource Energy in Massachusetts, followed suit. By 2019, most of the ULT models on the market were using half of the energy they were in 2016.

Continuing the work on laboratory freezers in 2018, MGL was the lead investigator and author in a CEEL study examining the energy consumption of -20°C laboratory freezers. This study was funded by SCE and SDG&E. The results of this study led to a correction of ENERGY STAR’s standards for this product category.

MGL Lab Sustainability Programs

As of 2022, MGL has eight primary programs to support ongoing lab sustainability efforts:

• Green Lab Certification (since 2014)
• Center for Energy Efficient Laboratories (CEEL) (since 2014)
• Million Advocates for Sustainable Science (in conjunction with International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories)
• Green Chemistry Initiative (since 2015)
• ACT (since 2016)
• Freezer Challenge (since 2017)
• Green Lab Ambassador (2019)
• Green Lab Accredited Professional (2020)

Freezer Challenge

The Freezer Challenge seeks to reduce energy consumption in labs by encouraging the implementation of cold storage best practices. In 2016, MGL and the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) adopted the Freezer Challenge from a small group of organizations (UC Davis, CU Boulder, the CDC). The two non-profits were asked to create a more widespread competition, which began as the North American Laboratory Freezer Challenge. This initial competition ran January to June 2017 and included over 50 labs. The following year, the Freezer Challenge was expanded globally. Winners are announced in four categories (academia, industry, government, and non-profit) based on the amount of energy (kWh) they save relative to the amount of cold storage they have. The Freezer Challenge winners are published in Nature each year.

My Green Lab Certification

In 2013 MGL worked with the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), UCLA, UCSF, and UC Santa Cruz to develop a method of assessing the sustainability of scientific laboratory operations. This was initial based on previous work from LabRATS at UCSB, Harvard University, Dartmouth College, and the University of Colorado, Boulder. The initial assessment tool was piloted with 35 labs in 2014. After a successful pilot, the assessment tool was was further refined and standardized to become the first version of My Green Certification . In 2016 and 2019 the Green Lab Assessment underwent significant structural changes, including a new section on Green Chemistry (added in 2016).  The My Green Certification assessment tool is updated annually to account for best practices and feedback from the scientific community.

Process

The certification process begins with an initial assessment, taken by a majority of lab members. Lab members are asked to assess the veracity of certain statements using a Likert scale. Their responses are analyzed and sustainability recommendations are given based on the responses. Recommendations are not prescriptive. The lab is encouraged to ask questions about their established behaviors and protocols and to discover new ways of approaching these tasks and habits. Labs are given 3 to 6 months to implement changes, and then retake the assessment. Certification is awarded on the basis of the second assessment. MGL certifies labs at five levels: green, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum.

Global Impact

My Green Lab Certification is the largest green lab certification program in the world. As of March 2022, over 900 labs on six continents have been My Green Lab Certified. In 2021, the Certification was named as a critical indicator of progress in the United Nations’ 2030 breakthrough emissions announced at COP26.

ACT (Accountability, Consistency, Transparency)

In 2015 and 2016 Paradise (at that time CEO of MGL) collatoborated with with Annie Bevan from SMS Collaborative to develop the ACT (Accountability, Consistency, Transparency) Standard and ACT Label. According to Paradise, the (Accountability, Consistency, Transparency) "was conceived as an eco-nutrition label, intended to provide valuable information on the environmental impact of a product."

ACT assesses products across 11 categories in three key areas:

• Manufacturing including manufacturing impact, renewable energy use, responsible chemical management, shipping impact, product content, and packaging content
• Use in terms of energy and/or water consumption over the product lifetime
• End-of-life environmental impact of both the product and its original packaging

("Innovation" credits are also available for going above and beyond the metrics on the label.)

Each category is scored 1-10, with 1 representing the least environmental impact and 10 representing the greatest impact. The points are also summed to give a total score, the "Environmental Impact Factor" ("EIF"). The EIF of products can be compared within a similar product category. Products with the highest score are deemed to have the greatest environmental impact relative to their peers.

ACT labels expire after two years.

As of June 2022 there are 800 products listed in the My Green Lab ACT database.

Green Lab Ambassador

The Green Lab Ambassador program began as a collaboration between MGL, the Department of Energy, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). A series of four instructional videos provide essential background on sustainable laboratory best practices.