Sometimes it can be much easier to spot a way to make your lab work greener than to get the resources you need to put your idea into action. Advocacy can help bridge that gap. And where can scientists turn when they need an advocate for environmental stewardship in science? To My Green Lab.

Labconscious thanks James Connelly, and the My Green Lab team, for sharing an update on their advocacy systems to engage grassroots and top-down support for sustainability in science.

Biologists should be aware of two broader trends related to this update. First, lab sustainability accreditations have emerged as requirements in biomedical research grant funding policies, and second, government regulators have raised the bar for green claims and certifications. The broad shift in green certification requirements is designed to ensure integrity and overcome a loss in public trust.  The sustainability accreditation requirements specific to science are designed to align public health goals with environmental and economic stewardship by researchers.

My Green Lab advocacy strategies to overcome systemic barriers

My Green Lab is a non-profit organization rapidly evolving to advocate for the transformation of conventional scientific laboratory operations to build a culture of sustainability in science. The organization offers My Green Lab Certification for scientific labs across multiple scientific sectors, including academia, government, biotech, and pharma. Scientists and lab users use this program’s self-assessment tool to identify environmental impacts, receive customized suggestions for conserving energy, water, and material waste, and later, to demonstrate self-improvement. The certification process connects scientists with the desire to protect the environment to best practices for lab sustainability. It was the first nationally recognized standard for laboratory operations. However, over time it became clear that grassroots efforts were not sufficient to make green labs the rule rather than the exception in science.

On a call with James Connelly around the evolution of My Green Lab, he joked about how much gray had appeared in his beard since he took on the role of CEO three years ago in 2021. Little wonder. The organization has grown substantially to match the challenge, with its flagship My Green Lab Certification program now engaging 2,600 labs across 45+ countries and reaching over 30,000 scientists. Over and above that, world events have triggered public policy responses to ensure integrity in sustainability efforts.

My Green Lab has been driving awareness and action through programming and community building. It has relationships with research institutes, pharmaceutical companies, biotech, and other organizations that give grassroots efforts the legitimacy required to get institutional support and resources. My Green Lab created learning modules and networking programs, such as the My Green Lab Ambassador program and its Accredited Professional program. The My Green Lab Ambassador program was launched for lab users. The professional program was launched to provide credentialed lab sustainability skillsets. Their ACT label program was adopted by many lab supply manufacturers seeking sustainable product design insights and clear, third-party verified information about the environmental impact of their products. The flagship My Green Lab Certification program earned endorsements from the UN Race to Zero, the American Associations for Sustainability, and the Higher Education Science Foundation. The country of Ireland has used My Green Lab resources to begin piloting a program for its national labs to pursue sustainability.  My Green Lab has made great strides in its mission to improve learning, networking, and establishing a standard in sustainable product design.

CEO James Connelly shared “Ultimately, our goal is that every individual in science is fluent in sustainability, understands how they can make a difference through their work and actions, that every lab is green, and every laboratory product is designed to minimize environmental impact, which translates into a thriving culture of sustainability at every leading organization in science.”

“Ultimately, our goal is that every individual in science is fluent in sustainability, understands how they can make a difference through their work and actions, that every lab is green, and every laboratory product is designed to minimize environmental impact, which translates into a thriving culture of sustainability at every leading organization in science.”

James Connelly, CEO of My Green Lab

Research funders have added lab sustainability requirements to grant applications

It’s still early days, but the knowledge base is strong enough to convince scientific research funders that sustainable lab operations are the responsible way to conduct research. Conventional scientific education doesn’t typically include lab sustainability training, but best practices are accessible through My Green Lab, the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF), and others. It's a hopeful trend not only for the sake of environmental stewardship but a green lab also signifies cost-efficient use of science funding in the long run. For example, Wellcome states that they “will only fund research that is conducted responsibly. To be responsible, research must be conducted in an environmentally sustainable way.” Wellcome grant applications must incorporate the most sustainable approach available and explain the direct costs to enable it, even if it means higher, justified upfront project costs. The Cancer Research UK (CRUK) policy for Environmental sustainability in research, similarly calls for a greener and more efficient research system. CRUK grant applicants will only be eligible for funding by holding either LEAF or My Green Lab Certification at the silver level for their research group at the time of submission, from January 2026 onwards. CRUK-funded research host institutions must also meet certain sustainable infrastructure and reporting requirements. These biomedical research funders have set a course to accelerate discovery while minimizing pollution and waste in research activities.

Environmental sustainability requirements for eco-labels

Over the past three years in the wider world, there has been a global energy crisis in conjunction with an overall loss of public trust in green solutions. A carbon neutrality and greenwashing claims crackdown is happening in response to widespread ambiguous or misleading marketing. European and North American regulators are actively raising the bar for environmental claims and ecolabels across the board. The European Parliament is laying out new criteria for proof behind green claims – which must be checked by independent and accredited verifiers. Transparency in the governance of environmental labeling programs is an additional requirement. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also launched anti-greenwashing efforts with expanded guidelines for eco-labels and a framework to qualify eco-labels for its environmentally preferable purchasing program. Eco-labels for laboratory products are on the radar alongside other industries in part because lab spaces use at least five times the energy of offices, generate high volumes of regulated waste, and are seldom optimized to minimize environmental impacts. These broad regulations are also raising the bar for green lab certifications.

Impact Laboratories will facilitate robust third-party verification

Impact Laboratories is a newly launched subsidiary of My Green Lab that is a certifying body. This re-organization was necessary to show that My Green Lab standards both enhance the rigor of their programs and align with international best practices. The ACT Label version 2.0, the My Green Lab Accredited Professional (AP) program, and the My Green Lab Certification Program will be third-party certified by Impact Laboratories. Impact Laboratories will also provide marketing and business development support for the ACT® Environmental Impact Factor Label. Overall, Impact Laboratories verification services offer proof of environmental impacts – in other words, trustworthy and transparent data.

Conclusion

Sustainability is a global goal that individual scientists can help advance, but it is not always easy. There is certainly potential for system-wide improvement but any change to a lab’s operations requires time away from scientific projects to validate. Let’s get real. No single lab technology, service, or product is a panacea. Incorporating sustainability into lab work is a manifold process, unique to the type of lab work being done. My Green Lab has done a great job assembling many groundbreaking experts and case studies to prove top-down support for greening science is warranted and their new subsidiary, Impact Laboratories, offers a useful bridge to validate lab carbon footprint reduction solutions.