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Freezer Sustainability Certification

Green Labs is offering a dual-tiered certification process with the goal of minimizing the energy consumption of all UCLA laboratories to lower operational costs, increase equipment longevity, and transform campus research to become more sustainable! We can help you evaluate your lab’s current operations and determine how they can maximize sustainability. The program offers two certifications, the Blue Certification, awarded to labs who implement our selection of simple but highly effective practices, and the Gold Certification, awarded to labs who go above and beyond by implementing our Gold Star practices! 

A pilot program will be initiated on April 14th, and the full, official program is set to launch during the 2025-2026 academic year. The pilot will run until May 23rd, and will require fewer steps for a preliminary certification. Green Labs will work closely with participating labs to provide and receive personalized feedback to better shape the upcoming official program, maximize its effectiveness, and support the participants.

Additional program details and freezer sustainability resources are provided below. If you have any questions regarding the program, please contact us, and we will respond promptly!

As this is a pilot program, participating labs will be required to fulfill only a majority of the sustainable practices to achieve a certification. If these labs choose to participate in the full program during the 2025-2026 academic year, they will be better equipped to finalize implementing all practices to receive additional awards at the end of the program!

1. Submit the Freezer Sustainability Certification Interest Form by Friday, April 18th

Green Labs will then reach out to selected labs by the end of the Winter 2025 quarter to provide them with a detailed overview of the program and any necessary information to conduct our self-assessment survey.

2. Complete the Initial Assessment Survey by Friday, April 25th

Afterwards, labs will receive an email confirmation regarding the sustainability status of your lab. Green Labs will then provide recommendations for improving their practices to achieve Blue and Gold Certification.

3. Implement all applicable best practices

Our implementation period will run until May 23rd, during which, Green Labs will offer additional resources and personalized guidance to help labs transition to a more sustainable model!

Green Labs Freezer Sustainability Certification Pilot Program pamphlet

ULT Freezer Sustainable Practices pamphlet

ULT Freezer Sustainable Practices one-pager (print out for in-lab use)

4. Complete the Final Assessment Form

This final step allows us to assess labs’ performance after the implementation period. Green Labs will then evaluate all participating laboratories, award preliminary certifications, and distribute awards in late May or early June, 2025.