The University of Washington Green Laboratory Competition provides a friendly competition for laboratories to take extra steps to make their laboratories more sustainable and do better in the competition. 

The 2013 College of the Environment Green Laboratory Competition winner was:

Greenest Laboratory: DeLuca Lab

Congratulations to DeLuca Lab for their achievement in the Green Laboratory Certification Program. This is an annual competition and a new winner will be selected and awarded each year. Be sure to submit your labs application before the end of Fall 2014 to participate in the 2014 College of the Environment Green Laboratory Competition!

Is your lab interested in competing but not part of the College of the Environment? Don't worry, a Green Laboratory Competition will be coming to your college soon!

2013 University of Washington Green Laboratory Competition Rules and Guidelines

  1. The Green Lab Certification program and its subsequent programs (i.e. this competition) shall be administered by the University of Washington Sustainability office. 
  2. All labs at the University of Washington are eligible for participation in the program and its competition, subject to restrictions defined by the ESS office.
  3. A lab, self-defined, is typically a university research group working toward one common goal, operating under the same program criteria, and sometimes, but not always, restricted by physical location depending on lab operating practices.
  4. Lab size is defined by certification submitters.
    • The minimum number of laboratory employees is one.
    • There is no maximum number of laboratory employees in a lab.
  5. Labs shall submit the online version of the Green Laboratory certification application available at sustainability.uw.edu/green-laboratory/apply
    • The application includes questions regarding: Communication and Education, Energy, Recycling, Compost, and Waste Reduction, Chemical Usage and Disposal, Purchasing, Work-Related Travel and Field Work, and Water Conservation.
  6. Labs shall, to the best of their ability, answer all questions of the certification completely and truthfully.
  7. Labs shall re-submit the full certification document on an annual basis to retain certification level.
  8. Labs failing to meet certification may resubmit after sustainable changes have been made.
    • There is no minimum wait time between submissions.
  9. ESS will return application results as quickly as possible (typically 1 week).
  10. A lab shall become a participant in the campus-wide competition upon application submission.
    • This includes the posting of lab certification score and ranking on the ESS website.
    • Labs certified prior to their parent department’s competition quarter will be entered into the next competition featuring their parent department.
  11. Labs failing to meet certification may resubmit when they see fit.
    • There is no minimum wait time between submissions.
  12. Innovation points are awarded at the sole discretion of ESS.
  13. Green Laboratory Consultants are available for labs interested in identifying and making green improvements in their laboratory. For more information please contact our Green Laboratory Consultant.
  14. Competition rankings among departments shall be compiled in the same quarter of each year.
  15. Labs shall be ranked based on their overall certification score and data derived from their submission.
  16. Having won an award the previous year, a laboratory or department is not eligible for the same award the following year.
  17. Labs and departments are only eligible for one prize each.
    • The next runner up will be selected in the event of a laboratory or department winning two or more awards.
    • The laboratory or department that won multiple prizes may select which category they would like to “win” and its corresponding prize.
    • Lab and departmental awards are separate categories – a lab may win a lab prize, and their parent department may win a departmental prize. Labs may not win more than one lab award, and departments may not win more than one departmental award.
  18. Certified labs shall also be ranked into 3 distinct categories based on certification scores: Bronze (55%-69%), Silver (70%-84%), and Gold (85%+).
  19. Lab rankings shall be made available on the ESS website.