Green Labs

The Green Labs intern team aims to help all laboratories on campus to become more sustainable. Our consultation services provide UW–Madison students, faculty, and staff the information and tools they need to better understand the impacts of their practices and create healthy and sustainable laboratory environments.

COVID has changed our practices, but WE ARE STILL CERTIFYING LABS! We will follow our general guidelines under the “Green Labs Certification” tab, however we will now conduct virtual walk-throughs. This change will be implemented until it is safe for our interns to enter your lab spaces. Thank you for being accommodating during this unusual time. We look forward to working with you!

The Green Labs Certification program recognizes campus labs for their efforts in reducing their overall environmental impact. The program is designed to educate and empower labs to make more sustainable choices by assessing energy use, waste streams, and purchasing. The certification process takes approximately 8-12 weeks, but the completion time may differ depending on your lab. By going through this program, you are helping fulfill the university’s strategic priority of Resource Stewardship: to “promote environmental sustainability through our own campus operations, integrated with research and education.”

How to get certified:

1. Fill out our General Interest Form to gain access to the Sustainable Action Checklist
2. Complete the Action Checklist
   • There are nine lab focus areas with associated action items for each lab to complete. Examples of these focus areas include water and energy conservation, proper plastic disposal, and sustainable purchasing practices. 
   • Only 7 out of 9 lab focus areas must be completed to attain a Green Labs Certification, but all 9 focus areas are designed to be attainable by most campus labs. When all action items for each specific focus area are met, the entire focus area can be marked as complete.
3. Follow-up 
   • Once complete with 7 out of 9 lab focus areas, please reach out to the Green Labs team for a follow-up walkthrough to confirm completed items and answer any additional questions.
4. Review accomplishments and finalize the certification
   • Once your action items are confirmed as completed, your lab will be recognized by the University as a certified Green Lab! You will receive a digital seal to use on official documents, as well as a physical certificate.
5. Continue your sustainability journey
   • Interested labs can continue to work with the Green Labs Team to achieve additional sustainability certifications. Additional certification typically requires the completion of a more extensive action item designed by the Green Lab’s Team, or by completing an approved original idea for improving the sustainability of your lab’s practices.

Below, you’ll find a directory of resources that are available both on- and off-campus. If you use a tool we don’t have listed that makes your laboratory a more sustainable place, or if you find something new, please contact us.

To learn more about the program, to ask questions, or to make suggestions, please write to greenlabs@g-groups.wisc.edu.