Engaging scientists in laboratory sustainability to reduce waste, energy, and water
At My Green Lab, our mission is to build a culture of sustainability through science. Our Green Lab Certification Program is the cornerstone of our mission, educating and engaging scientists on laboratory sustainability best practices so they can become active contributors in minimizing the environmental impact of their laboratory operations.
Recognized by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the American Energy Society, and the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories, My Green Lab’s Certification is considered the global standard for laboratory sustainability best practices. We have certified hundreds of labs in a variety of sectors, including academic institutions, government labs, hospitals, and pharma and biotech companies, among others. In becoming Green Lab Certified, we have seen people and organizations make real and impactful changes across their laboratories.
Recognized by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the American Energy Society, and the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories, My Green Lab’s Certification is considered the global standard for laboratory sustainability best practices. We have certified hundreds of labs in a variety of sectors, including academic institutions, government labs, hospitals, and pharma and biotech companies, among others. In becoming Green Lab Certified, we have seen people and organizations make real and impactful changes across their laboratories.
The Druffel Lab at the University of California, Irvine
The Certification Process
TOPICS COVERED
Our green lab certification program covers 14 topics related to energy, water, waste, chemistry/materials and engagement.
The self-assessment and results you get from My Green Lab provides labs with specific ideas on ways laboratory personnel can take action as individuals in the lab as well on larger projects that might involve facilities or EHS (such as changing out lights, for example). While we focus on behavior change and tasks scientists can do themselves, we also recognize that there are bigger changes to the space or maintenance of equipment that can have a significant impact.
HOW TO BECOME CERTIFIED
Whether you are a lab manager, graduate student, postdoc, scientist, sustainability program manager, R&D leader, energy manager, or anyone else who works in or supports labs, we can help you on your journey towards a more sustainable laboratory. Using a multi-step approach, our Green Lab Certification Program is designed to give laboratories actionable ways they can improve their environmental performance.
Our program consists of 5 steps:
1. Baseline Assessment
Using an online self-assessment, we ask members of a lab a series of questions on the equipment they use, the practices they employ and how they purchase, use, and dispose of products. We use the responses to make recommendations on steps the lab could take to adopt sustainability best practices.
2. Implement Changes
Using our recommendations as guidelines, we encourage labs to take some time (usually ~6 months) to make changes in their laboratory.
3. Certification
Members of the lab retake the online self-assessment, and we again use everyone’s answers to see what best practices the lab has adopted. We then give the lab an overall score and certification level. We will also give the lab new recommendations for further improvements to make before they seek recertification.
4. Implement More Changes
After the initial certification, we encourage labs to take 1-2 years to maintain the best practices they have adopted and work on further improvements. This time period is not strictly set, and when a lab is ready to seek re-certification, we are happy to assess them.
5. Re-Certification
When labs are ready for recertification, they retake the self-assessment to see what best practices they are still implementing and where they might make future changes. By making this a continuous improvement process, we allow labs to make continual change and also gauge how well the sustainability best practices are being passed on to newer members of the lab and thus how much sustainability has become part of the culture of the lab.
1. Baseline Assessment
Using an online self-assessment, we ask members of a lab a series of questions on the equipment they use, the practices they employ and how they purchase, use, and dispose of products. We use the responses to make recommendations on steps the lab could take to adopt sustainability best practices.
2. Implement Changes
Using our recommendations as guidelines, we encourage labs to take some time (usually ~6 months) to make changes in their laboratory.
3. Certification
Members of the lab retake the online self-assessment, and we again use everyone’s answers to see what best practices the lab has adopted. We then give the lab an overall score and certification level. We will also give the lab new recommendations for further improvements to make before they seek recertification.
4. Implement More Changes
After the initial certification, we encourage labs to take 1-2 years to maintain the best practices they have adopted and work on further improvements. This time period is not strictly set, and when a lab is ready to seek re-certification, we are happy to assess them.
5. Re-Certification
When labs are ready for recertification, they retake the self-assessment to see what best practices they are still implementing and where they might make future changes. By making this a continuous improvement process, we allow labs to make continual change and also gauge how well the sustainability best practices are being passed on to newer members of the lab and thus how much sustainability has become part of the culture of the lab.
CERTIFICATION LEVELS
There are 5 levels of certification: bronze, silver, gold, platinum and green. The level of certification is determined by the percentage of green lab best practices that the lab has adopted.
investment
There are two options for receiving your assessment results. The cost of certification depends on which option you choose.
Option 1: Feedback Report – This is a comprehensive report detailing the lab’s answers to the assessment. It has a summary of how the lab scored overall, as well as how the lab scored in each topic area and on each question in the assessment. For every question in the assessment, we give a recommendation on how the lab can improve based on their answers for that questions. This option is ideal for labs wishing to have a comprehensive view of their assessment and for organizations wanting to manage communication of results and recommendations to the labs. See an excerpt from a sample feedback report here.
Option 2: Feedback Report PLUS Presentation – In addition to receiving the comprehensive feedback report, you can also receive a My Green Lab summary presentation of the lab's results. The presentation will give an overview of the lab's scores as well as highlight for each topic in the assessment the areas where the lab is already doing well and the areas where the lab could make improvements. This is ideal for an organization looking for communication tools to present the assessment results to the lab. See an excerpt from a sample presentation here.
Individual Lab Pricing
This pricing is for a single lab at an organization that does not have a green labs program. It includes both the baseline and certification assessments. Please sign up below for information about our most recent pricing model. We offer special, discounted rates for academic labs.
Organizational Pricing
This pricing is for an organization looking to certify more than three labs. Please sign up below for information about our most recent pricing model. We offer special, discounted rates for academic labs.
*We recommend organizations tailor the assessment to reference their internal policies, programs, and groups.
Option 1: Feedback Report – This is a comprehensive report detailing the lab’s answers to the assessment. It has a summary of how the lab scored overall, as well as how the lab scored in each topic area and on each question in the assessment. For every question in the assessment, we give a recommendation on how the lab can improve based on their answers for that questions. This option is ideal for labs wishing to have a comprehensive view of their assessment and for organizations wanting to manage communication of results and recommendations to the labs. See an excerpt from a sample feedback report here.
Option 2: Feedback Report PLUS Presentation – In addition to receiving the comprehensive feedback report, you can also receive a My Green Lab summary presentation of the lab's results. The presentation will give an overview of the lab's scores as well as highlight for each topic in the assessment the areas where the lab is already doing well and the areas where the lab could make improvements. This is ideal for an organization looking for communication tools to present the assessment results to the lab. See an excerpt from a sample presentation here.
Individual Lab Pricing
This pricing is for a single lab at an organization that does not have a green labs program. It includes both the baseline and certification assessments. Please sign up below for information about our most recent pricing model. We offer special, discounted rates for academic labs.
Organizational Pricing
This pricing is for an organization looking to certify more than three labs. Please sign up below for information about our most recent pricing model. We offer special, discounted rates for academic labs.
*We recommend organizations tailor the assessment to reference their internal policies, programs, and groups.
FAQS
Q: How do you define a lab?
A: This is a great question! How a lab is defined is really up to you. For academic institutions, this tends to be straightforward and is typically defined by the space run by and people who work for a particular PI. Biotech companies, pharma companies or government labs have less well-defined boundaries. Because our assessment asks questions about the kinds of equipment being used, the practices in lab around purchasing, use of chemicals and reagents, and waste disposal, we encourage you to think of a lab as a group of people occupying a common area that are using common equipment and doing common kinds of laboratory work. You can make the lab as big or as small as you like, but keep in mind that the insights you get into the behaviors of that lab will be as granular as you decide to make the lab. Considering the questions in our assessment might help you decide how you want to define a lab. If you would like to see a sample of the questions in our assessment, please email us.
Q: Why don’t you give a certificate after the first assessment?
A: There are a couple of reasons for this. One, we have found that giving labs time to make changes before getting certification is a great way to motivate them to make changes and to start their journey towards a more sustainable lab. Issuing the certification right away does not effectively engage labs in making changes. Second, we want a lab’s certification level to reflect efforts they have made to make their lab more sustainable, not just the status quo they have been operating under for years.
Q: Do the labs get something when they get certified?
A: Yes! When a lab is certified, we will send them a certificate they can place in the lab with their certification level and date of certification. We will also recognize them in our newsletter and on social media (pending approval to do so).
Q: Do you have materials I can share with others at my organization?
A: You can email us to get an overview of our program or if you have additional questions.
Q: Will you visit our lab and check up on our progress?
A: Our program is not an audit program – no one will come through your lab with a clipboard to make sure you are doing what you say you are doing. Instead, we use a self-assessment to ask individual members of the lab about their practices and use the combined responses to get a sense of what is being done in the lab. If you participate as an individual lab with no organizational support, we may ask for evidence of the improvements the lab has made (e.g. photos of signage). If you are participate as a lab whose organization is working with us, we work closely with your green labs team to ensure the integrity of the program.
Q: Does everyone in the lab have to take the assessment?
A: The more people who take the assessment, the more accurate the picture of what is being done in the lab. We encourage you to get at least 50% of the lab to take the assessment. For large labs of over 100 people, we recognize this might not be feasible, and encourage as many people as possible to participate.
Q: How long does it take to get certified?
A: The online assessment takes 30-45 minutes to complete. The total amount of time it takes to get your certification will depend on how much time you invest make changes after taking the baseline assessment. Most labs will get their certification within 6 months of taking the baseline assessment.
Q: What’s the difference between My Green Lab Certification and ISO-14001?
A: The ISO14001 certification sets requirements for having certain environmental management components in place to ensure a holistic and ongoing environmental management program. It does not specify how these policies and practices should manifest in certain parts of the organization, such as labs. The My Green Lab Certification supplements ISO14001 by giving you a framework to address environmental sustainability in the lab and engage the scientists in improving the sustainability of your laboratory operations.
Q: How does My Green Lab keep the certification up-to-date?
A: Laboratory sustainability is a dynamic and evolving topic – new technologies enable new best practices and new products present new opportunities. To make sure we stay up to date on sustainability best practices, My Green Lab partners with various organizations to develop and strengthen our standards. We partner with subject matter experts, safety and sustainability managers, manufacturers and others to review and update our assessment on a regular basis.
Q: What organizations have you worked with?
A: Since the program began in 2014, My Green Lab has certified labs all over the world, including labs from Amyris, AstraZeneca, Los Alamos National Labs, MIT, Noble Research Institute, NUI Galway, the University of Alabama, Birmingham, the University of California, and many others.
Q: My organization has a green labs program/green lab certification - is that the same as My Green Lab?
A: Not necessarily. Many organizations have their own outstanding green labs programs that are not affiliated with My Green Lab, and many also offer their own version of a green lab certification. If your organization is fortunate enough to have such a program, get involved!
If you're unsure about whether My Green Lab is working with your organization and would like to know, simply inquire by email.
Q: What is the history of My Green Lab's Green Lab Certification?
A: The first assessment tool for certifying labs was developed over a decade ago by Allen Doyle when he co-founded LabRATS. Around the same time, S-Labs in the UK developed a tool for assessing laboratories that was run under Green Impact. In 2013, My Green Lab had the privilege of collaborating with Allen and others at UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, UCSF, and UC Santa Cruz to develop a common set of questions that could be used to assess laboratory sustainability.
Since then, the My Green Lab assessment has been updated continuously to include recent best practices. We often include great ideas that have come out of the labs we've certified, as well as generally-agreed upon best practices in the community.
A: This is a great question! How a lab is defined is really up to you. For academic institutions, this tends to be straightforward and is typically defined by the space run by and people who work for a particular PI. Biotech companies, pharma companies or government labs have less well-defined boundaries. Because our assessment asks questions about the kinds of equipment being used, the practices in lab around purchasing, use of chemicals and reagents, and waste disposal, we encourage you to think of a lab as a group of people occupying a common area that are using common equipment and doing common kinds of laboratory work. You can make the lab as big or as small as you like, but keep in mind that the insights you get into the behaviors of that lab will be as granular as you decide to make the lab. Considering the questions in our assessment might help you decide how you want to define a lab. If you would like to see a sample of the questions in our assessment, please email us.
Q: Why don’t you give a certificate after the first assessment?
A: There are a couple of reasons for this. One, we have found that giving labs time to make changes before getting certification is a great way to motivate them to make changes and to start their journey towards a more sustainable lab. Issuing the certification right away does not effectively engage labs in making changes. Second, we want a lab’s certification level to reflect efforts they have made to make their lab more sustainable, not just the status quo they have been operating under for years.
Q: Do the labs get something when they get certified?
A: Yes! When a lab is certified, we will send them a certificate they can place in the lab with their certification level and date of certification. We will also recognize them in our newsletter and on social media (pending approval to do so).
Q: Do you have materials I can share with others at my organization?
A: You can email us to get an overview of our program or if you have additional questions.
Q: Will you visit our lab and check up on our progress?
A: Our program is not an audit program – no one will come through your lab with a clipboard to make sure you are doing what you say you are doing. Instead, we use a self-assessment to ask individual members of the lab about their practices and use the combined responses to get a sense of what is being done in the lab. If you participate as an individual lab with no organizational support, we may ask for evidence of the improvements the lab has made (e.g. photos of signage). If you are participate as a lab whose organization is working with us, we work closely with your green labs team to ensure the integrity of the program.
Q: Does everyone in the lab have to take the assessment?
A: The more people who take the assessment, the more accurate the picture of what is being done in the lab. We encourage you to get at least 50% of the lab to take the assessment. For large labs of over 100 people, we recognize this might not be feasible, and encourage as many people as possible to participate.
Q: How long does it take to get certified?
A: The online assessment takes 30-45 minutes to complete. The total amount of time it takes to get your certification will depend on how much time you invest make changes after taking the baseline assessment. Most labs will get their certification within 6 months of taking the baseline assessment.
Q: What’s the difference between My Green Lab Certification and ISO-14001?
A: The ISO14001 certification sets requirements for having certain environmental management components in place to ensure a holistic and ongoing environmental management program. It does not specify how these policies and practices should manifest in certain parts of the organization, such as labs. The My Green Lab Certification supplements ISO14001 by giving you a framework to address environmental sustainability in the lab and engage the scientists in improving the sustainability of your laboratory operations.
Q: How does My Green Lab keep the certification up-to-date?
A: Laboratory sustainability is a dynamic and evolving topic – new technologies enable new best practices and new products present new opportunities. To make sure we stay up to date on sustainability best practices, My Green Lab partners with various organizations to develop and strengthen our standards. We partner with subject matter experts, safety and sustainability managers, manufacturers and others to review and update our assessment on a regular basis.
Q: What organizations have you worked with?
A: Since the program began in 2014, My Green Lab has certified labs all over the world, including labs from Amyris, AstraZeneca, Los Alamos National Labs, MIT, Noble Research Institute, NUI Galway, the University of Alabama, Birmingham, the University of California, and many others.
Q: My organization has a green labs program/green lab certification - is that the same as My Green Lab?
A: Not necessarily. Many organizations have their own outstanding green labs programs that are not affiliated with My Green Lab, and many also offer their own version of a green lab certification. If your organization is fortunate enough to have such a program, get involved!
If you're unsure about whether My Green Lab is working with your organization and would like to know, simply inquire by email.
Q: What is the history of My Green Lab's Green Lab Certification?
A: The first assessment tool for certifying labs was developed over a decade ago by Allen Doyle when he co-founded LabRATS. Around the same time, S-Labs in the UK developed a tool for assessing laboratories that was run under Green Impact. In 2013, My Green Lab had the privilege of collaborating with Allen and others at UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, UCSF, and UC Santa Cruz to develop a common set of questions that could be used to assess laboratory sustainability.
Since then, the My Green Lab assessment has been updated continuously to include recent best practices. We often include great ideas that have come out of the labs we've certified, as well as generally-agreed upon best practices in the community.
next steps
Ready to become Green Lab Certified? Have additional questions? Email us!