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​​​​The NIH Green Labs Program with Bani Bhattacharya​​​

​​​​​Bani Bhattacharya, the NIH Environmental Management System (NEMS) Program Manager in the Division of Environmental Protection, has been spearheading the NIH Green Labs Program since its early inception in 2016. Over the years, Bani has been able to improve awareness of environmental efforts by promoting and refining this self‐assessment tool.

​“[The] Green Labs Program is a tool that provides information and increases awareness on NIH environmental programs for labs to choose from to reduce their environmental footprint,” Bani says, “It's almost like a cheat sheet or a central repository of what we have.”

This tool is far more than a questionnaire, as it features links to and information about several NIH environmental initiatives, such as the NIH Surplus Chemical Redistribution Program, the NIH Freezer Challenge and NIH FreeStuff, just to name a few. Since its beginning, the assessment has been reduced from more than 50 questions to less than 30 as a way of improving ease of participation.  ​​

“We cannot write 100 questions pertaining to one program area,” she chuckles, “since we have so many NIH environmental programs, finding out what is of significant importance is key.”

The initial development of the Green Labs Program was an extensive, two-year process filled with brainstorming, revisions and testing teams. Bani thanks NIH senior leadership, the Sustainability Management Team and the Intramural Research Program, as well as all of the other lab groups and individuals who played a role in kick-starting the program, including My Green Lab​ itself, a non-profit organization that focuses on increasing the sustainability of scientific research worldwide.

As the annual iterations of the Green Labs Program progressed, Bani’s support team grew, and she was able to develop a community out of the participants in the Green Labs Program. These ‘Green Labs Program Ambassadors’ or ‘Champions of Change’ have acted as a source of effective promotion, useful feedback and positive community. Many of these Champions have been inspired by the program to spearhead environmental campaigns themselves.

“They're volunteering their time, but it's their motivation and energy that I get that helps me move on and continue with this mission.” she smiles, “If I fall back, there is someone else to motivate me, and they will push me to the next level. ‘Let's give it a shot. Let's try something.’”

This year, the NIH Green Labs Program has expanded to include, alongside the traditional assessment, additional questionnaires specific to the environmental programs featured at Fort Detrick and Rocky Mountain Labs. ​​The program is currently live​ and will remain open until December 15, 2023. Participation rewards both increased awareness of environmental programs and, in many cases, a lab-level Green Labs Program Certification.

Bani has the following to say about the uniqueness and importance of the NIH Green Labs Program:

“Not only [are] people learning how to self-assess their labs, but also they're learning about the programs because the links and the information are embedded within that program itself. They really do not have to call us up every single time. But they can take a look at these respective programs and choose from these programs whatever fits their needs. We felt that it was a different way of conducting an outreach at a much larger scale than we could have anticipated.”​

For the full transcript, cli​​ck here​.

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Did you know? ​October is Energy Awareness Month, when we prioritize saving electricity! To learn more about energy conservation​​​​​​​​, please visit the NEMS Training webpage to view a short (20 minute) NIH environmental awareness training video.