Laboratory Sustainability: Voluntary Green Lab Programs Make an Institutional Impact

Kelly O'Day Weisinger, Emory University

In 2013, Emory University pulled together a multidisciplinary team of individuals from the Office of Sustainability Initiatives, Environmental Health and Safety Office, Office of Procurement, Campus Services, and research and teaching laboratories to develop the University's first Green Lab Program. In early 2014, the team kicked off the program to a small pilot group to test the initiatives and provide essential feedback. This case study will discuss the components of the program, steps taken towards pilot implementation, successes and challenges and future opportunities.

A unique team-based approach was used to develop best practices for laboratory sustainability specific to Emory University, and resulted in important learning experiences, community-building tools, and strong stakeholder ties that inform and expedite future collaboration between departments with varying interests and areas of expertise. Participants will hear how one institution grappled with the following questions:

• How does a green laboratory program balance opportunities and challenges related to safety regulation, engineering constraints, waste protocols, procurement limitations, and sustainability goals?
• How does a green laboratory program fit into the spectrum of awareness-raising, building knowledge and understanding, and achieving change or action that results in measurable impacts?
• Is it possible for one program to provide meaningful recommendations that apply to a variety of different types of laboratories, including research labs in medicine, behavioral science, physics, chemistry, and public health, as well as undergraduate teaching labs?
• How does the program development process balance consensus decision-making and stakeholder engagement given the pressure to pilot and implement?
• To what extent does a green laboratory program provide meaningful recognition for sustainability efforts?
• How can sustainable laboratories become places where participants are learning through institutionalized practice and demonstration?
• How do we balance the significance of a sustainable work environment with the importance of the actual work going on inside the space?

Learning Objectives

• Analyze one institution's method for balancing sustainability goals with existing or inherent regulations, constraints, and limitations by hearing about a year-long development process where desired outcomes were measured against implementation feasibility.
• Differentiate between the impact of operational changes and the benefit of awareness raising through participation in a voluntary program measured against concrete energy and waste reduction goals.
• Implement a voluntary program in your own institution's laboratories using a similar framework measured against your institution's sustainability goals.

Biography:

Kelly O'Day Weisinger is a Program Coordinator in Emory's Office of Sustainability Initiatives, collaborating with University and Healthcare leadership in fulfilling Emory's Sustainability Vision. She conducts outreach and implements projects working to reach Emory's goals in waste minimization, energy and water use reduction, sustainable procurement, climate action, and laboratory and office sustainability. She acquired a Master in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School in 2009.

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