Organize an "Internal" or "Institution Specific" Competition Using Freezer Challenge Data
The International Laboratory Freezer Challenge seeks to motivate laboratories around the world to be more efficient with their refrigerators and freezers, for the betterment of science and the planet. Incentives to participate include that winning labs and organizations are highlighted in a digital article (for 2023, this was in Lab Manager magazine), recognized at the annual International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories Conference, and receive a certificate or plaque for their efforts. But with hundreds of labs competing, and only about ~20 awards to go around for individual labs and top organizations, we encourage research institutions who are willing and able to harness the data we can provide you from the Freezer Challenge to host an “internal competition” between labs just at your site or organization. Read on to learn how some organizations have done this.
Why Do an Internal or Institution-Specific Competition?
If your institution is exploring how to motivate many laboratories to engage with the International Laboratory Freezer Challenge, or to engage with your own lab sustainability initiatives for the first time, adding additional incentives to participate can be helpful. It is not necessary to run an internal competition at all, but if you (the organizer) are interested in getting maximum participation, showing a large amount of energy savings, or are just hoping to raise awareness of sustainable cold storage best practices, this method can be useful in conjunction with the competition organized by My Green Lab and I2SL.
How To Run An Internal Competition
Whoever is coordinating an “internal” or institution-specific competition harnessing the data for the Freezer Challenge should register as a Site Coordinator for their institution. This will give you visibility to the Freezer Challenge scoresheets begun by labs at your own research institution. In addition, Site Coordinators are able to sign labs up to have a scoresheet, view scoresheets and responses for labs at their organization, and download a report detailing the scoresheet entries for all labs at their organization.
What Data Can My Green Lab Provide?
My Green Lab can provide Site Coordinators with the kWh saved by each participating lab at your organization as well as the kWh saved per cold storage unit. Site coordinators also have access to all their organization’s scoresheets through Brilliant Assessments, so can see particular information like the number of units defrosted by a lab, the number of samples cleaned out or discarded, so parameters like that could be used to give specialty internal awards, like “Frost Champion” for the lab that defrosts the most units, or an “Early Adopter” award for the lab that switches the most ULT freezers to a -70 C setpoint. Those are just examples. You can use the data how you wish.
Examples of Institutions Holding Internal Competitions
The University of Colorado Boulder has a decade-old Green Labs Program, and in recent years has leveraged the data from the International Laboratory Freezer Challenge to host an internal competition on campus between labs to encourage participation in the Freezer Challenge. The Green Labs Program uses funding from its budget to procure gift cards of various denominations to local restaurants to recognize the top 15 labs that save the most energy through the competition. Usually the CU Green Labs Program organizes a pizza party to celebrate all the Freezer Challenge participants and does an award ceremony to give the gift cards to the top labs. The University of Colorado Boulder does not hold an internal competition for the Freezer Challenge every year, but every other year or every three years, usually.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham leverages the data My Green Lab and I2SL can provide from the Freezer Challenge to hold an internal competition as well. Through an agreement with Thermo Fisher, the lab that saves the most energy through the competition wins a free ULT freezer, the second place winner receives a one year supply of Kimberly Clark gloves (which is a donation from Kimberly Clark), and the third place lab winner receives a pizza party (funded by UAB’s Green Labs Program). Their internal competition continues to motivate labs to engage in the Freezer Challenge.
Why Do an Internal or Institution-Specific Competition?
If your institution is exploring how to motivate many laboratories to engage with the International Laboratory Freezer Challenge, or to engage with your own lab sustainability initiatives for the first time, adding additional incentives to participate can be helpful. It is not necessary to run an internal competition at all, but if you (the organizer) are interested in getting maximum participation, showing a large amount of energy savings, or are just hoping to raise awareness of sustainable cold storage best practices, this method can be useful in conjunction with the competition organized by My Green Lab and I2SL.
How To Run An Internal Competition
Whoever is coordinating an “internal” or institution-specific competition harnessing the data for the Freezer Challenge should register as a Site Coordinator for their institution. This will give you visibility to the Freezer Challenge scoresheets begun by labs at your own research institution. In addition, Site Coordinators are able to sign labs up to have a scoresheet, view scoresheets and responses for labs at their organization, and download a report detailing the scoresheet entries for all labs at their organization.
What Data Can My Green Lab Provide?
My Green Lab can provide Site Coordinators with the kWh saved by each participating lab at your organization as well as the kWh saved per cold storage unit. Site coordinators also have access to all their organization’s scoresheets through Brilliant Assessments, so can see particular information like the number of units defrosted by a lab, the number of samples cleaned out or discarded, so parameters like that could be used to give specialty internal awards, like “Frost Champion” for the lab that defrosts the most units, or an “Early Adopter” award for the lab that switches the most ULT freezers to a -70 C setpoint. Those are just examples. You can use the data how you wish.
Examples of Institutions Holding Internal Competitions
The University of Colorado Boulder has a decade-old Green Labs Program, and in recent years has leveraged the data from the International Laboratory Freezer Challenge to host an internal competition on campus between labs to encourage participation in the Freezer Challenge. The Green Labs Program uses funding from its budget to procure gift cards of various denominations to local restaurants to recognize the top 15 labs that save the most energy through the competition. Usually the CU Green Labs Program organizes a pizza party to celebrate all the Freezer Challenge participants and does an award ceremony to give the gift cards to the top labs. The University of Colorado Boulder does not hold an internal competition for the Freezer Challenge every year, but every other year or every three years, usually.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham leverages the data My Green Lab and I2SL can provide from the Freezer Challenge to hold an internal competition as well. Through an agreement with Thermo Fisher, the lab that saves the most energy through the competition wins a free ULT freezer, the second place winner receives a one year supply of Kimberly Clark gloves (which is a donation from Kimberly Clark), and the third place lab winner receives a pizza party (funded by UAB’s Green Labs Program). Their internal competition continues to motivate labs to engage in the Freezer Challenge.