20/20 Seed Labs are Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Seed Testing

by | Oct 28, 2022 | Business

People don’t often think of seed testing labs as having a big carbon footprint, but it’s true. That’s why 20/20 Seed Labs believes in doing what it can to be environmentally conscious.

“We’re a huge user of electrical power — all the equipment, walk-in germinators, lights, computers, greenhouse, you name it. Everything requires electricity. We took a look at our energy bills and thought, ‘You know, Alberta has over 230 sunny days a year and if we could help to offset our power bills with solar power that would be a big help and a good thing to do,’” says 20/20 Seed Labs President Sarah Foster.

That’s why you’ll see 166 solar panels on the roof of 20/20 Seed Labs in Nisku, Alta. They feed power to the lab, storage room (which has to be temperature controlled for seed storage) and also the greenhouse, which is also a big user of power in the winter.

From there, they started to think about other recycling initiatives, Foster says.

Most compost is taken by staff for their home gardens, with the exception of any materials known to be diseased or otherwise potentially hazardous to the ecosystem. 20/20 is also planning to work with a local worm castings manufacturer, who will use the lab’s seedling waste to make their product for home gardeners.

The lab also manages seed from its archives. It’s gone from sending it to landfill to feeding animals and creating green spaces.

Foster is also looking at replacing the lab’s dishes and plates used for seed testing with biodegradable ones, thereby reducing the amount of water used to wash dishes at the lab.

“I don’t think we realized just how much water we were using, on top of the electricity. It’s become really important for us to do what we can to reduce our carbon footprint,” Foster says.

Related Articles

Water Scarcity is on the Rise Thanks to Climate Change

Feds Provide Funding to Bolster Organic, Climate-Resilient Farming

Seed is Rising to the Challenge of Climate Change

ONLINE PARTNERS

Trending This Week