The goal of the Green Labs Program is to work with partner labs to maximize sustainability and safety initiatives while minimizing impact on vital research performed by each lab.
CU Anschutz houses over 700,000 square feet of research laboratory space which is equivalent to more than 12 football fields! Due to the process-heavy nature of research, laboratories at CU Anschutz are the most resource intensive spaces on campus. On average, research buildings use 3x the energy of our academic spaces. Beyond energy, labs also consume high volumes of water, chemicals, equipment, and PPE. To better preserve human health, in addition to their research, labs can partner with the CU Anschutz Green Labs Program to minimize this environmental impact.
In March 2025, ten labs began the My Green Lab Certification program. The program customizes sustainable actions for labs based specifically on the research and processes of each unique lab. After the ten lab pilot concludes, we hope to onboard more labs for My Green Lab Certification. The program offers tools for researchers to conduct more efficient, sustainable, and environmentally friendly research.
Sign up to participate in the next round of My Green Lab certifications
The labs working toward My Green Lab Certification are:
- Julie Lang Lab
- Julia Dunn Lab
- Leslie Berg Lab
- Julia Cooper Lab
- Adult CTRC Core Lab
- Sujatha Jagannathan lab
- Jeffrey Stansbury Lab
- Manisha Patel Lab
The labs who have achieved My Green Lab Certification are:
- Lee Newman and John Adgate Combined Lab
- LEAD Center Biorepository and Laboratory
The ACT Environmental Impact Factor Label was designed to address the need of both scientists and procurement specialists for clear, third-party verified information about the environmental impact of laboratory products. By emphasizing Accountability, Consistency, and Transparency (ACT) around manufacturing, energy and water use, packaging, and end-of-life, ACT makes it easy to choose more sustainable products.
Did you know that ultralow freezers are the equipment that use the second highest amount of energy in our laboratories on campus? There are a few simple ways you can reduce your freezer's carbon footprint while extending its usable life.
- Chill up your freezer from -80° to -70° C. This can save 10-30% energy, resulting in an average of 1 ton of C02 eliminated from your lab's operations annually. Check out the -70° database and these publications to see what samples have been stored safely at -70°.
- Defrost your freezers annually to improve efficiency.
- Vacuum freezer coils quarterly to improve efficiency.
Learn about cold storage best practices here.
Click here for information about freezer maintenance on campus.
CU Anschutz has a lab materials swap where you can donate or claim unused supplies and equipment.
- Visit SOM Intranet Research and Clinical Resources and login
- Click “Lab Equipment and Supplies Inventory”
- Browse Catalog with the help of the filter pane on the right of the webpage and/or search bar at the top of the page
- Once you find an item you would like to request, select the tile
- In the Share pop up, enter “Cody Rester” in the first field and include the quantity you request in your message in the second field
- Press “Send”
- Cody Rester will respond via email with next steps