Green Lab Certification

Join UBC’s Green Labs movement and take the step toward certification! The Green Lab Certification program empowers research groups to adopt sustainable practices that improve efficiency, cut costs, and minimize environmental impact, all while maintaining research excellence. By embedding sustainability into everyday lab operations, you’ll not only achieve operational savings but also become part of a growing community of UBC labs proudly leading the way in sustainable research.

Process overview

Certification is free for UBC labs. Labs receives feedback and recommendations tailored to their specific circumstances and are guided to self-identify and action priorities. The certification process is as follows:

The recommendations provided through certification encourage specific actions and tasks scientists and labs can do themselves to improve their lab's environmental performance. The program also provides recommendations for more extensive changes to the space or maintenance of equipment that can significantly impact sustainability parameters.

What it covers

14 key sustainability topics, including:

Who can participate

Research labs at UBC are eligible for the certification. At least 50% of the lab members must complete the two engagement surveys for a lab to successfully complete the process. Teaching labs may be eligible to participate, depending on the nature of their laboratory work. The certification is ideally suited to research labs that work with chemical and biological material.

Why Go Green

Proven Impact

35% reduction in energy use through efficiency upgrades and behavior changes in daily operations.

218,419 kWh energy saved ensuring closed fume hood sashes.

147,000 kWh energy saved from adjusting ultra-low temperature freezers to –70C.

Testimonials

Food, Nutrition, and Health Teaching Lab

Through the Green Labs Certification program, we’ve been able to embed sustainability into every part of our work, from energy and water use to purchasing, waste reduction, and even research practices. The framework helped us identify opportunities across 14 categories, making it easy to turn ambitious sustainability goals into daily actions. For our lab, it hasn’t just meant cost savings and efficiency gains, it’s given us a stronger culture of sustainability and a sense of pride in being part of UBC’s growing community of Green Lab Certified teams.

The Foster Lab

Since beginning the Green Lab Certification process, our lab has embraced a more systematic approach to sustainability. We’ve introduced practices such as purchasing reusable labware, transitioning to powder chemicals instead of liquids, and closing fume hood and safety cabinet sashes whenever possible. We also dedicate time in lab meetings to discuss new opportunities for improvement, guided by the certification framework. The certification process has been invaluable in keeping us accountable and motivated to strengthen our sustainability efforts.

Frequently asked questions

1. Who is eligible to apply for the Lab Lead role? Can multiple Lab Leads be appointed for the same lab?

All lab members including PI, Lab managers/ Technicians, Graduate students, and Undergraduate students can apply for the lab lead role. We welcome and encourage multiple members from the same lab to form a lab leads team to share the responsibilities.

2. How will lab sustainability level be assessed?

Labs are assessed using three key metrics: lab member engagement and sustainability knowledge (via a 12-minute mobile-friendly survey), the lab’s progress toward sustainability goals and actions (tracked by the lab lead through the Assessment Tool), and quantifiable environmental impact (measured with the Impact Estimator, including waste, water, energy, carbon, and financial savings).

3. How does the third-party verification process work?

The My Green Lab Certification partners with Impact Laboratories, an independent third-party organization, to verify results and ensure the certification meets international best practices and delivers measurable impact. The process involves a risk-based review of survey and assessment tool data in which documentation will be requested for a small subset of questions. For more information, please visit the Impact Laboratories Website.

4. What types of support and resources are provided to Lab Leads?

Throughout the certification process, lab leads will have access to a dedicated project management platform designed specifically for the assessment. Other support includes a range of online and in-person resources, including lab-customized recommendations, blog posts, workshops, and networking opportunities with peers and sustainability professionals across campus. In addition, UBC Sustainability offers incentives and subsidies, such as the Green Labs Fund, to help support and advance sustainability initiatives within labs.

5. How often must certification be renewed?

Recertification takes place 2 years from the certification date, and the baseline step does not need to be repeated. Labs receive a certification level – bronze, silver, gold, platinum, or green – based on the depth and breadth of sustainable practices adopted.

6. Is there a cost associated with certification?

The certification program for academic labs is valued at USD 500 per lab for non-commercial institutions. At UBC, this cost will be fully subsidized by Sustainability & Engineering, provided that labs complete the entire certification process, enabling labs to embed ongoing sustainable practices into their culture.

7. How is the certification level (e.g., Bronze, Silver, Gold) determined?

There are five levels of certification the same as 1.0: bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and green. The level of certification is determined by the score on the certification assessment. It reflects both the percentage of possible green lab best practices that have been adopted and the extent to which they have been adopted by the lab.

8. What’s new in My Green Lab Certification 2.0 vs 1.0?

Features	Certification 1.0	Certification 2.0
Platform & Tools	No central platform.	Software platform with dashboards and progress tracking.
Surveys & Assessment	40-minutes survey. Less user-friendly & fixed assessment criteria.	12-minutes survey. Mobile-friendly & customizable assessment criteria.
Impact Measurement	Limited or manual	Integrated Impact Estimator – a tool to quantify waste, water, energy usage, carbon emissions, and cost savings to demonstrate tangible sustainability benefits. Questions and actions are weighted for impact.
Verification	Self-reported	Independent third-party verification by Impact Laboratories
Lab Lead role	Informal role