Dear I2SL community:

Fall is the season of change, so it’s the perfect time to talk about the recent changes at I2SL. With deep appreciation and admiration for the two previous presidents of I2SL, Phil Wirdzek and Gordon Sharp, it’s been a particular honor to step into the President role. As President, I’m committed to advancing our mission with the energy, strategy, and dedication it deserves.

Looking for a way to identify energy improvements that are tailored to your lab building? Recent updates to the Actionable Insights and Measures (AIM) Report software have made I2SL’s automated energy audit tool more comprehensive, customizable, and impactful than ever. With these improvements, a free demo featuring more measures, and a 25 percent discount on all subscriptions, owners and consultants can find even more opportunities to save on energy and operating costs in lab buildings.

A builder in every sense of the word, Kevin Brettmann was the ideal choice to receive the 2026 Phil Wirdzek Leadership Award. Each year, I2SL recognizes an individual or team who emulates the spirit of I2SL’s late founder by being both a leader in the sustainable labs arena and a community-builder within and outside the organization. Kevin embodies the spirit of I2SL founder Phil Wirdzek by recognizing and ensuring that progress in sustainable labs is truly a team effort.

When the I2SL Annual Conference kicked off in Boston last month, a panel of plenary speakers representing the pharmaceutical, design, and lab supply industry shared some of the drivers that are making them strive to be leaders in sustainable lab design. Like many of the sessions throughout the conference, plenary panelists described why they have chosen to work on improving energy performance, reducing emissions, and minimizing waste in lab buildings, products, and supplies, including customer preference.

As the 2026 I2SL Sustainable Lab Award winner, the University of Virginia (UVA) shows how Smart Labs and green labs can work together to achieve real savings. While green labs and Smart Labs programs are often distinct efforts at research institutions, UVA’s Sustainable Labs Program takes a dual approach to get the best of both worlds: a bottom-up green labs effort to engage researchers, combined with retro-commissioning and ventilation strategies to improve lab building energy efficiency. The result? Over 200 labs engaged, 72 of which achieved Green Labs certification, and over $5 million saved in utility costs since 2018!

The International Freezer Challenge, organized by My Green Lab in cooperation with I2SL, encourages researchers and laboratories to adopt smarter, more sustainable cold storage practices to reduce energy consumption, and operational costs. Over 4,000 labs from 268 organizations across 42 countries participated this year. These labs took over 129,000 actions to save 29.7 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 19,943 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent!