Congratulations to the 2022 Freezer Challenge Winners

The 2022 International Freezer Challenge competition was on fire as participants from around the world competed to improved their lab’s cold storage efficiency. Over 1,200 labs from 27 countries with over 12,000 cold storage units participated in this year’s challenge and saved a total of 9.5 million kilowatt hours of energy! This is the equivalent of the energy consumption of over 1,300 homes for one year.

Since its launch in 2017, the Freezer Challenge, co-sponsored by My Green Lab and the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I²SL), has helped labs save a total of 24 million kilowatt hours of energy, reducing associated greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 17,000 metric tons.

I²SL and My Green Lab are excited to recognize the 2022 Freezer Challenge winners:

Top Organizational Winners:

• Biotech/Pharmaceutical Sector: Amgen
• Academic Sector: University of Virginia
• Government Sector: Central Veterinary Laboratory, Harare, Zimbabwe
• Hospital/Clinical/Other: Boston Children’s Hospital

Winning Streak Award Recipients:

• AstraZeneca
• University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Lab+, Coventry University, United Kingdom
• Van Der Pol Lab, University of Alabama at Birmingham
• The Microbial Self-Healing Research Group at the National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia

I²SL and My Green Lab also recognized many other labs based on size and lab type, as well as acknowledged organizations with honorable mentions. You can view the full list of winners on the I²SL website.

To earn points, Freezer Challenge participants reduce their energy consumption, costs, and environmental impact by implementing a variety of best practices, including temperature tuning; retiring or upgrading old freezers; defrosting and cleaning out freezers; inventorying samples; and other cutting-edge strategies.

You can read more about all the winners on the Freezer Challenge's website, or better yet meet them in person at the 2022 I²SL Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 16-19 during the Awards Luncheon October 18. Keep an eye out for more information on how to participate in the next Freezer Challenge and see your cold storage costs melt away in 2023!