About This Guide

The College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science (CVMBS) conducts essential research every day. Yet with all this research comes enormous resource use and waste production. CVMBS has many potential areas where changes could be made to reduce the College’s harmful impact on the planet by targeting high energy, space, water, and waste footprints. Aware that different buildings, biosafety levels, organisms, and techniques require different considerations, a mix of graduate students, Research Associates, and laboratory managers from the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology came together with an aim to provide suggestions tailored to these various conditions.

Under the guidance of Drs. Colleen Duncan and Tracy Webb, both activists in sustainable research, this guide was created to share information with CVMBS, the University, and other communities about laboratory practices and policies for sustainable research. This guide, first published in 2022, will need to be periodically updated to keep information current and relevant as research, information, and environmental conditions evolve. With implementation and action by everyone in CVMBS, we can significantly lower the College’s environmental footprint while continuing to be a leader in research and innovation.