APS Research Labs Earn Platinum Rating for Sustainability

APS Research Lab Members Recycling
Julia Hurley, Sherwin Navaz, Katarína Kmeťová, and Christine Rysenga (L to R)
February 28, 2023
Authors: Claire Hoy, Cyrus Sarosh, and Dr. Jason Knight

The University of Michigan (U-M) created and implemented multiple sustainability goals in 2011 that they hope to reach by 2025. These goals include reducing greenhouse gas emissions (by 25%), vehicle carbon emissions (30%), landfill waste (40%), and landscape chemicals (40%). U-M is also attempting to increase local and sustainable food purchasing by 20%. While some of these goals have already been achieved, there’s still more work to do! U-M created a university-wide training program that provides resources to help individuals and teams learn and work more sustainably. After the training is complete, each student, staff, or faculty member is certified as a “Planet Blue” ambassador of sustainability on campus. There are currently more than 8,000 Planet Blue Ambassadors at U-M!

As a research lab, we inevitably create waste and consume a lot of electricity and energy. Heading into 2023, our APS Research Labs were looking for ways to lessen our impact on the environment and increase lab sustainability. To this end, 20 of our team members recently completed Planet Blue Ambassador training. We were educated about a standard laboratory’s energy consumption, waste production, and water usage. What we learned was shocking! Labs use around five to ten times more energy per square foot than a typical office space and produce 12 billion pounds of plastic waste each year annually. Thankfully, the Planet Blue Ambassador training provided us with information on the best practices for laboratory sustainability so we can collectively work to become a more eco-conscious program!

The main ways we contribute to the University’s sustainability goals are by reducing waste and decreasing the amount of electricity and energy we use. There are U-M and non-U-M recycling programs that we’ve integrated into our labs. Rather than disposing of items like pipette tip boxes, writing utensils, bottle caps, electronic media (CDs, DVDs, etc.), and shipping and packaging materials, we now recycle these items through U-M, and the products are eventually used in making consumer goods like park benches. Additionally, some scientific brands like Corning and MilliporeSigma have recycling programs for items we use daily in the labs.

Regarding energy and electricity, our most recent addition to the lab has been outlet timers. These allow us to shut down power-hungry pieces of equipment automatically when not in use to conserve as much power as possible. We have also decreased the temperature of our ultra-low-temperature (ULT) freezers. Good thing we did; the Planet Blue Ambassador training taught us that one ULT freezer can use as much energy as one house does each day!

Sustainability is a team effort, and the APS Research Labs hope to continue to reduce our waste production and energy use in 2023. The Office of Campus Sustainability provides ratings for labs and workplaces across campus and has acknowledged the many steps and efforts we’ve made in our labs. The labs were recertified in February as a Platinum level workplace, which is currently the highest rating! This is an upgrade from the previous Gold level we received in 2014.

We are enthusiastic to share what we have learned with others! If you are interested in learning more, some of the resources we utilized to improve our lab sustainability can be found at the following websites: Planet Blue University of MichiganOffice of Campus Sustainability University of Michigan Programs, and My Green Lab.