Green Labs Program

The Cal Poly Green Labs Program is a certification program that focuses on two main objectives:

1. Recognizing a lab's sustainability efforts.
2. Supporting labs in improving AND implementing sustainability practices.

This is accomplished by ranking a lab’s sustainability efforts as quantified through an Excel spreadsheet. To ensure a fair assessment, the lab’s ranking is determined by its capabilities, equipment, and its ability for improvement.

How It Works

The main process for a lab to be certified is as follows:

1. A representative, such as a professor, learning assistant or PI, may register a lab for certification using this form.
2. A Green Campus team member will then reach out to set up a meeting and begin the certification process.
3. Afterward, the lab will be provided with an official certification and extra resources to improve their ranking.

Why It Matters

Implementing many of the practices as outlined in the Green Labs Excel spreadsheet can support Cal Poly’s mission of reaching carbon neutrality. Additionally, The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) states that any institution that participates in a green laboratory program that covers areas focused on sustainable practices, fulfills one of the credit areas in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS). STARS acts as one of Cal Poly's guiding principles and a framework for implementation, measurement, and improvement of sustainable practices across the entire University.

Currently, the Cal Poly Green Labs program covers four crucial sustainability topics: Energy Efficiency, Water Conservation, Waste Management, and Green Chemistry.

Energy

Some of the most energy-intensive buildings on campus are labs due to the equipment they use. Simple actions involving this equipment can drastically improve Cal Poly’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Water

Water is one of the most important resources that we have. It is highly used in labs through cage washers, autoclaves, deionized water, and single-pass cooling. These all contribute substantially to water consumption on campus.

Waste

It is estimated that plastic waste from labs could cover an area twenty-three times the size of Manhattan ankle deep. An important step is establishing different waste containers to generate separate waste streams and prevent cross-contamination. Currently, only some labs participate in the Kimberly Clark RightCycle Program, as well as Cal Poly’s Surplus Lab Supply Exchange Program.

Green Chemistry

Some ways to minimize chemical waste would be to modify lab procedures and prevent students from grabbing more chemicals than necessary. Switching to greener alternatives instead of typically used chemicals could reduce hazardous waste production. In addition, labs can share any surplus with the RSS system and avoid wasting or overstocking on those chemicals.