Summer School Is in Session!

Summer is the perfect time to take a break for educational and professional development. Check out these exciting–and free–learning opportunities!

Best Practices for Laboratory Water Efficiency

Over the past year, the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I²SL) has been updating a series of best practices guides on laboratory sustainability and efficiency topics. In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), I²SL is pleased to host the third webinar of the series, highlighting the recently updated Water Efficiency in Laboratories Best Practices Guide.

Join Stephanie Tanner of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense program and Robbie Pickering of Eastern Research Group on July 19 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern to learn about current best practices related to common laboratory equipment (e.g., water treatment systems, steam sterilizers, vacuum systems), cooling towers, and steam boilers.

Laboratories can use significantly more water per square foot than typical commercial buildings, largely to support high cooling and heating loads and specialized laboratory equipment and operations. This webinar will highlight opportunities to reduce water use in laboratory-specific systems and processes. This session will also outline general commercial building water efficiency best practices from WaterSense labeled plumbing and irrigation products to efficient cooling systems and native landscaping.

Register online to attend the webinar. If you can't participate in the live session, you can still access the recording afterward. This webinar is provided at no cost to attendees on behalf of FEMP to continue improving sustainability and energy efficiency in laboratories. Webinar attendees and those who view the recording can earn one Professional Development Hour (PDH) for professional engineers or one Learning Unit from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for registered architects. Email I²SL after completing the webinar if you would like to receive credit for your participation.

More Opportunities to Learn

Following are two other free education opportunities in June:

• Join the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) for a free webinar on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, to learn from three I²SL members (Star Scott, Ilyssa Gordon, and Kathy Ramirez-Aguilar) about practical approaches to minimize labs' impacts on the environment. Register today!
• The Global Council for Science and the Environment (GCSE) Annual Conference June 21-24, 2022, will focus on biodiversity, conservation science, and climate change. GCSE represents research and academic institutions dedicated to ensuring science is part of environmental decision–making, and this virtual event is free to its member institutions' faculty, staff, and students—register today!

And of course, don't forget to check out the I²SL Annual Conference and Technology Fair, planned for October 16-19, 2022, in Pittsburgh; registration is now open!