Sustainable Labs Program increases participant engagement, welcomes new labs

Penn State’s Sustainable Labs Program ushers participating labs through a yearlong certification process, guiding them in implementing sustainable practices across multiple domains, including energy efficiency, waste reduction, water conservation, green chemistry and sustainable purchasing. The program will host a virtual information session from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 18, and from 11 a.m. to noon on Friday, Feb. 21, for those interested in learning more or applying for the next cohort.

In the fall, individual lab members complete a baseline assessment that measures current sustainability practices, sets an initial score and provides recommendations for what to improve upon throughout the year.
This year’s cohort achieved a 98% completion rate on the baseline assessment, up from a 74% completion rate last year.

“As a program, we encourage labs to aim for 100% completion on the baseline survey,” said Jack Rumery, Sustainable Labs Program director at Penn State Sustainability (SustainPSU). “But the benchmark set by My Green Lab, our partner who facilitates the certification process, is only 50% in order to process certifications. We were blown away by the level of engagement we saw across the cohort this fall.”

The 2024-25 Sustainable Labs Program cohort consists of 21 labs — 20 of which are located at Penn State University Park and one at Penn State Behrend — from a breadth of disciplines. Eleven of these labs support Sustainable Lab Consultants: undergraduates trained to play an active role in supporting a lab’s certification efforts.

This year’s participating labs include:

• Four College of Agricultural Sciences labs: Jasna Kovac, Edward Dudley, Josephine Wee and Shan Krishna Kumar
• Two College of Engineering labs: Juan Pablo Gevaudan and William Hancock
• Six College of Earth and Mineral Sciences labs: Katherine Freeman, Robert Hickey, Anastasia Piliouras, Hilal Ezgi Toraman, Nutifafa Doumon and Thandazile Moyo
• Five Eberly College of Science labs: Mauricio Terrones, Kateryna Makova, Ramesh Giri, Shaun Mahony, Carsten Krebs and J. Martin Bollinger Jr.
• One Penn State Behrend lab: Michael Campbell
• Three transdisciplinary labs: Josh Kellogg; Craig Praul, representing the Genomics Core Facility; and Rajeswaran Mani, representing the Flow Cytometry Core Facility

Each lab designates a My Green Lab Coordinator (MGLC) to lead sustainability efforts and serve as the main liaison with program leadership.

“Their motivations may vary, but it’s their passion for sustainability that makes the program successful,” Rumery said.

MGLCs are represented by a diverse mix of students, staff and, in some cases, faculty. MGLCs attend info sessions, relay lab-specific needs, and help drive meaningful change.

"Sustainability has always been something I strive for, but it can be difficult in a research lab,” said Erin Horack, Dudley Lab MGLC. "I jumped at an opportunity to learn better practices for sustainability in labs because I wanted to know how I could be a sustainable scientist.”

A common theme reported from across the MGLCs is the value of learning that takes place.

"This program has been an eye-opener, revealing how many aspects of our lab practices could be improved and how simple changes can make a significant difference," said Vishal Yadav, a postdoctoral research fellow and MGLC in the Bollinger-Krebs lab.

Josie Krepps and Ashley Ohstrom, doctoral students and dual MGLCs in Wee's lab, agreed. 

“I think everyone has an idea of what sustainability means, but not always a clear picture of what it can look like, especially in a lab setting,” Krepps said.

“The Wee Lab wanted to get involved in the Sustainable Labs Program because many of our research projects align closely with the global Sustainable Development Goals,” Ohstrom said. 

Auja Bywater and Tyler Chandross-Cohen, both doctoral students, serve as dual MGLCs in Kovac’s lab, working closely and sharing the responsibility their lab.

“Sustainability is not just a component of my work,” Bywater said. “It is a core value that shapes how I approach problems and envision solutions that balance scientific progress with environmental stewardship."

“In science, it’s easy to overlook sustainability when you’re focused on experimental accuracy and other priorities,” Chandross-Cohen added. “I’ve gained a new appreciation for the scale of waste our lab could produce and the importance of taking steps to minimize it.”

Huiqing Zeng, research technologist and MGLC in Makova’s lab, shared that their lab is integrating sustainability into every aspect of their work

“We are working on Green Lab [standard operating procedures], which will serve as a guideline for everyone in our lab to follow to minimize the environmental impact from our research," Zeng said.

Kerry Hair and April Cockburn, core research technologists and MGLCs in the Penn State Genomics Core Facility echoed the sentiment.

“Sustainability is a mindset first,” Hair said.

“For us, it’s about considering sustainability as part of research processes — training ourselves and our students to integrate sustainability just as we consider sample size and cost,” Cockburn said. 

For those interested in learning more about the Sustainable Labs Program or applying for next year’s cohort, the program will host two virtual information sessions in February to provide an overview of the initiative, answer questions and guide prospective participants through the application process.

Sessions will be held from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 18, and from 11 a.m. to noon on Friday, Feb. 21. Registration is required. For more information, contact Jack Rumery at jackery7@psu.edu.