A Detailed Scoring Tool for Green Laboratory Operations: Test Case
Allen Doyle, MS, University of California
Green laboratory programs are developing at research universities, and they are starting to become in demand at federal and state public health laboratories, as well as environmental and pharmaceutical laboratories. At University of California, Davis (UC Davis), a comprehensive scoring tool was developed for all arenas of laboratory activity, including 10 modules of scoring focused on energy, water, solid waste, green chemistry, electronics, travel, community, and field work. There were more than 110 different actions that could be scored, as well as scoring opportunities for bonus points and new ideas. Many of the line items were linked to the Laboratory Research and Technical Staff website for a full description and rationale behind that action.
A 12 tab Excel spreadsheet was deployed to one medium sized (approximately 14 people) research group and it was completed almost without assistance over approximately eight months. Each module got an extra point if it was scored by a different person than the group's contact person, so leadership was shared widely. The principal investigator was very enthusiastic, which greatly assisted participation and achievement. Two energy modules with 30 separate actions highlighted what researchers could pursue related to HVAC, lighting, plug load, and especially cold storage.
Eleven participants from this research group helped score the spreadsheet and instill best practices. As a result, awareness of sustainability was highly elevated afterwards. The manager found the scoring "intuitively obvious," and the score was essentially 100 percent, indicating it was not challenging enough nor too many bonus points were offered. They could have completed it in about two to three months at a relatively easy pace, but experimental priorities intervened and the time to completion was about eight months. Contrary to expectations that this scoring might have been a burdensome exercise, laboratory managers indicated readiness to repeat the process to maintain attention.
Additional collaboration with the laboratory solved some cold storage issues and provided a loaner freeze dryer, which allowed a reduction in ultra low freezers and subsequent reduction in supply airflow of 500 cubic feet per minute. Occupants indicated they had little control over overhead lighting to take advantage of copious daylight, which needs further training and investigation. The next generation of the scoring sheet has columns for before and after the training to reveal the impact of training. Pilot deployments will continue and a full certification program should be in place by fall 2012.
After 20 years of ocean chemistry, soil and permafrost research, the urgency of climate disruption and environmental degradation compelled Allen Doyle to leave the laboratory and work with scientists to improve their workplaces. Mr. Doyle brings an occupant focus to laboratory energy conservation, as he is co-founder of LabRATS, developing a ten-module green laboratory program, a moderator of the Labs21 Energy-Efficient Laboratory Equipment Wiki, organizer of 100+ member national network, working to reduce plug load through cold storage management and the Freezer Challenge contest, and engaged in HVAC optimization through temperature relaxation and control banding. As sustainability manager, he interacts at all levels of campus and hopes that research laboratories and their stakeholders will reach ambitious standards of quality with dramatic improvements in resource consumption. He collaborates with laboratory trade groups, such as the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference and Association of Public Health Laboratories, as well as such federal agencies as U.S. Department of Energy, National Institutes of Health, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and private sector laboratories.