The North American Freezer Challenge

At present, a "contest" (sponsored by MyGreenLabs and I²SL) is directed at the energy consumption of freezers and other cold storage units.²⁴ As mentioned earlier, freezers are one of the most energy-consuming components of laboratories. Clinical, hospital, and private labs each have their own category for entry into the contest. Each year, a laboratory may apply for this award. Information on the award is provided at this website: https://www.freezerchallenge.org/how-to-win-the-freezer-challenge-guide.html

The most useful part of this challenge (along with steps on applying for the award) is the provision of a free guide on reducing the overall cold storage environmental impact. Ultra-low freezer, lab freezer, and lab refrigerator entries may earn valuable points toward awards - all by taking action on each cold storage unit in the lab and using cold storage best practices. The four best practices categories include:

According to the website, freezer challenge participants have saved a cumulative 24 million kWh of energy, which reduced carbon emissions by 16,796 metric tons since 2017 (which offsets the equivalent of 41 million miles in a passenger vehicle).