The large number of research labs on the University of Maryland, Baltimore's (UMB) campus present an opportunity for resource conservation and waste reduction efforts. Lab buildings on UMB’s campus account for 76 percent of our total campus energy use but only 39 percent of our square footage, meaning that they are energy-intensive spaces. The UMB Office of Sustainability would like to recognize four labs from across campus who participated in a Green Labs program pilot from fall 2022 to spring 2023. These labs have helped lay the groundwork and have provided feedback to build out a robust Green Labs program, which will in turn help other labs on campus improve the sustainability of their operations and lessen their environmental impact. The four participating pilot labs are:
- Feng Lab, Microbial Pathogenesis, School of Dentistry
- Johnson Lab, Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy
- Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos Lab, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine
- Shapiro Lab, Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy
The UMB Office of Sustainability would like to thank the individuals from these labs who adopted a variety of actions to improve sustainability in their research operations, including more efficient autoclave usage, turning off lab equipment when not in use, and more regularly performing preventative maintenance on ULT freezers, among other actions.
To learn more about Green Labs at UMB, including the Green Labs pilot, the Freezer Rebate Program, and Lab Share, visit the UMB Sustainability website.