Green Labs at CSU

CSU has a range of sustainability programs.  From the Student Sustainability Center to the School of Global Environmental Sustainability (SoGES) to the sustainability promises of campus Housing and Dining to the President’s Sustainability Commission—sustainability is everywhere at CSU. Sustainability is not an empty promise here. CSU has published a Sustainability Strategic Plan (available from the sustainability site, linked below), which outlines CSU’s goals for educating faculty and students on sustainability efforts, promoting engagement in these areas, increasing energy and water use efficiency, and promoting sustainable efforts in food procurement and public transportation. CSU tracks progress in these areas and highlights events around campus with an annual sustainability report (linked below, from Housing and Dining Services’ website). The university is also open with its energy and water use, with reports and further information found on the Facilities Management webpage. These efforts have not gone unnoticed as CSU was the first university in the world to be awarded platinum status from the STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System) rating system—a distinction that CSU has received twice.

That summarizes sustainability at CSU as a whole, but let’s take a closer look at sustainability in research at CSU. The CSU Green Labs program combines both sustainability and research safety. Their website covers the major focus points of sustainability efforts in research. In order to best support research sustainability at CSU, CSU Green Labs utilizes and assesses both internal and external resources to support relevant and impactful practices and programs for the robust and diverse research community on campus.

CSU Green Labs has developed several programs on campus to help promote more environmentally friendly behaviors in laboratories across campus. One of the campaigns is “shut the sash”. Fume and cell culture hoods can be some of the most energy consuming equipment in the laboratory. In many labs it is common practice to leave the fume hood open and running, which is not just energy inefficient but also can cause dangers for those working nearby. The “shut the sash” campaign supplies labs with information and helpful stickers they can put on appropriate fume hoods to help everyone remember to close the sash when they are not in use. CSU Green Labs is additionally working on establishing four training modules on sustainability in research as part of the Sustainability Fund awarded by the President’s Sustainability Commission.

CSU Green Labs has also supported participation in the International Freezer Challenge, which is a friendly competition put on by My Green Lab® and the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories. Second only to fume hoods, cold storage equipment is another major area of energy consumption, and the goal of the International Freezer Challenge is to promote the most energy efficient cold storage options. Over the past three years, eighteen labs have helped improve sustainability at the university. Although the freezer challenge has been a useful tool to encourage laboratories to lower their environmental impact, CSU Green Labs has also created its own incentive program for ultralow temperature (ULT) freezers. The program is run by CSU Facilities Management with the goal of reducing energy utilization by incentivizing labs to replace older inefficient ULT freezers with newer and more efficient models. The program offers $2000 and assistance with the removal of the old freezers. The ULT Freezer incentive program has helped reduce the carbon footprint of laboratories around the university.

An additional sustainability initiative run by the CSU Facilities Management is the composting program, which aims to reduce waste by composting consumables like paper towels, animal bedding, food waste, and compostable containers. There are two facilities on campus: EarthFlow, also known as Oscar, and The Windrow. The program works to engage and educate students through internships and volunteer opportunities. They also work with the public to donate compost to local farms and community members.

Outside of the university, CSU Green Labs is involved in a few programs to promote sustainability and is looking to expand involvement among campus labs and individuals. CSU is a member of the International Institute of Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL), which provides information and educational opportunities on creating green facilities in high-tech fields including research. CSU Green Labs is also supporting participation in My Green Lab®, which is a non-profit organization that provides education, certification, and support for development in laboratory sustainability. Aside from sustainability facts, their website (see below) has recommendations for becoming a sustainable research lab and offers certificates for labs (My Green Lab® Certification) and individuals (My Green Lab® Ambassador Program) to show their commitment to sustainability. The My Green Lab® Certification process involves a baseline assessment of sustainable practices in each laboratory, followed by a period of implementation of recommended changes, then re-evaluation and certification. Ideally, this process of implementing change and re-evaluation continues as the lab continues to adopt additional sustainable practices. CSU Green Labs is currently working with participating CSU laboratories to assess application of the established My Green Lab® programs across campus and whether there are needs for university-specific processes.

Although CSU has had some success in increasing sustainability across the university, it continues to have an enormous environmental footprint, driven by its physical size, energy and water usage, and number of students, faculty, and staff. More detailed data tracking of CSU’s energy usage is available through the EnergyCAP database, which can be accessed using these instructions.Although not specifically itemized within this dataset, research laboratories are hugely resource-intensive and most likely have an outsized impact on CSU’s overall footprint. CVMBS alone encompasses 11 of the top 13 energy intensive buildings at CSU, and in 2018 CVMBS accounted for approximately 24% of the total energy use of the university, 20% of the total water use of the university, and 25% of CSU’s total utility costs (> $4.8 million/year). Much of this energy and water usage can likely be attributed to laboratory spaces and their fume hoods, ULT freezers, and other equipment. It is therefore key that programs and initiatives to reduce emissions and increase sustainability at CSU include laboratory research.

Authors: McKenzie Fletcher, Laura Bashor, and John Patterson

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