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Planning for Green Labs 2025
The 2024 NIH Green Labs Program (GLP) has been completed, but it is never too early to get started for the 2025 GLP! Many of the initiatives highlighted within the GLP are year-round, including best practices to promote water conservation, energy conservation, waste reduction and much more. In this article, we will review the steps you and your lab can take to improve efficiency and get a leg up on the competition this year.
- NIH Freezer Challenge: The 2025 NIH Freezer Challenge is now open! Participating in the freezer challenge reduces energy consumption, electricity costs and air pollution from emissions. It can also help to improve the longevity and reliability of your freezers.
- Meetings and Working Groups: Keep in contact with others interested in sustainability, as well as staying updated on the latest accomplishments and initiatives at the NIH. For more information, contact green@mail.nih.gov.
- NIH Waste Disposal Guide: Staying up to date on the NIH Waste Disposal Guide can improve operational efficiency and reduce the chances of a hazardous waste pollution incident. Whether you are in a lab, an engineering space, an office block, working with patients or even eating at a cafeteria, this disposal guide can help you make the right choices for your waste.
- Sustainable Procurement: From keeping a chemical inventory to choosing energy-efficient products, procuring sustainably can help reduce operating costs and environmental impacts. Programs like NIH FreeStuff and Collaborative Research Exchange (CREx) help to share resources, reduce spending expenses and avoid unnecessary transportation emissions.
By participating in the GLP, you are actively working to make your lab more efficient, sustainable and successful. Let’s see if we can boost participation from where it was last year. Good luck in all your undertakings!
Featured Article
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The Here and Now of Sustainability
Sustainability is often associated with long-term issues, future generations and impacts “down-the-line.” But acting sustainably has very immediate and tangible results!
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Spotlight
| Ann Wiegand's GLP Story
Ann Wiegand is a research biologist in the HIV Dynamics and Replication Program (HIV DRP) in the Center for Cancer Research of the National Cancer Institute. Through their participation in the Green Labs Program, they’ve been empowered to improve their sustainability and their labs have seen great leaps in efficiency.
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NEMS Training
Did you know? The 2025 NIH Freezer Challenge is live and all NIH labs are encouraged to participate! You only need to complete 1 initiative to participate and the data entry process is very quick. To learn more about sustainability at the NIH, please visit the NEMS Training webpage to view a short (20 minute) NIH environmental awareness training video.
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The NIH Green Zone Newsletter is a publication intended to inform NIH staff about the Division of Environmental Protection and NIH Green Teams projects and initiatives. The text contained in this newsletter is not copyrighted and can be reprinted without permission. If you use portions of this newsletter in your own publication, we ask that you please credit the source. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Thank you.
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Division of Environmental Protection | Office of Research Facilities | Office of Management
National Institutes of Health | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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