Dedicated to advancing sustainable laboratories globally.
I2SL Sustainable Laboratories
Awards Winners
The I2SL Sustainable Laboratories Awards Program recognizes outstanding projects, programs, and people exhibiting innovative and exemplary achievements in sustainability, energy efficiency, decarbonization, and waste reduction. The competition recognizes laboratory design innovation and leadership by leveraging I2SL’s reputation as the leading organization for sustainable, safe, and efficient laboratories. An I2SL Sustainable Laboratories Award provides global recognition and credibility to awardees. Award winners are publicized internationally through the I2SL Annual Conference, website, webinars, and communications and social media channels.
Award Ceremony Photo Gallery (October 2, 2024)
Lab Buildings or Projects Awards
New Construction
Cape Cod Community College, Frank & Maureen Wilkens Science & Engineering Center
Vanderweil Engineers, Payette Associates
Frank & Maureen Wilkens Science & Engineering Center, Cape Cod Community College
Cape Cod Community College opened the Frank & Maureen Wilkens Science & Engineering Center in September 2022 in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Supported by Vanderweil Engineers and Payette Associates, the 38,500-square-foot building is home to the college’s Engineering Department and facilitates much of the college’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning. The Wilkens Center achieved LEED® Gold and is an all-electric, net-positive energy facility with wet and dry lab spaces, as well as communal space for collaboration. The building was designed to demonstrate sustainable design and mechanical systems to students, through a visible unique hybrid steel and low embodied carbon cross-laminated timber roof slab structure, as well as exposed mechanical/electrical/plumbing and fire protection systems that demonstrate sustainable engineering principles.
While the New England climate can pose building performance and comfort challenges and raise energy use intensity (EUI), the Wilkens design and engineering teams found innovative ways to reduce energy requirements in the building’s research spaces and decrease overall EUI. To reduce energy use from fume hoods and the need for makeup air, 75 percent of the fume hoods in the chemistry teaching lab are ductless units that transfer air through specialized filters and release it safely back into the room. A 25,000 cubic-feet-per-minute (CFM) variable air volume system features dual enthalpy wheel/sensible energy recovery to provide supply air to all occupied spaces; this allows decoupling of ventilation from local heating and cooling to minimize the amount of reheat needed in spaces with high airflow requirements. Labs also include occupancy and carbon dioxide sensors and intuitive, wall-mounted controls that shift between classroom mode and lab mode, minimizing air changes and ventilation needs when researchers are not working in the lab.
The center includes 10-foot cantilevered roof overhangs that provide passive shading of interior spaces to reduce thermal cooling loads; this is important because the facility is one of the first buildings on Cape Cod’s campus to include air conditioning. Rooftop 225-kilowatt photovoltaics helped the building achieve its net zero status. The roof also houses an air-source heat pump (ASHP) to provide heating and cooling; a six-pipe ASHP produces chilled water and heating hot water and includes an energy recovery function for free heating during simultaneous heating and cooling loads—this helps reduce fossil fuel consumption by 95 percent! Gas boilers are employed as a backup to prevent freezing during Cape Cod’s coldest weather or when power is lost.
With cross-laminated timber slabs, low-carbon concrete, a wood-clad façade, and native plantings in the landscape, the Wilkens Science & Engineering Center’s design demonstrates sustainability inside and out. These building materials enabled the facility to reduce embodied carbon by 800 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e). The center even includes an innovative toilet with a closed-loop electrolysis system that produces fertilizer and recycles water for flushing, nearly eliminating the need for potable water in that restroom. With these efficient and sustainable features, the Frank & Maureen Wilkens Science & Engineering Center was able to achieve a net positive energy use of -5.2 kBTU/SF and a 105 percent energy reduction compared to a 2030 baseline, along with LEED Gold for New Construction (version 4).
Excellence in Energy Efficiency
9880 Campus Point Drive, San Diego
Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.
Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (Alexandria) is a leading owner, operator, and developer of collaborative mega-campuses in the top life science innovation clusters in the nation. Developed by Alexandria, 9880 Campus Point Drive is a 98,000-rentable-square-foot LEED® Platinum certified laboratory building on the Campus Point by Alexandria mega-campus in San Diego, which is home to Alexandria GradLabs®, a dynamic platform accelerating the growth of promising, early-stage life science companies. The state-of-the-art building was designed to operate as a highly energy-efficient research facility. Innovative strategies to reduce energy consumption included placing the circulation space and passageways outside, along the perimeter of the building, thereby taking advantage of the mild climate in San Diego and reducing the total area of conditioned space needed for the building.
The building operates with continuous air quality monitoring sensors that reduce ventilation rates in key areas, occupancy sensors that reduce the energy required for lighting and the HVAC system, high-performance mechanical and electrical systems that reduce lighting power density, a highly efficient building envelope, and high-efficiency plumbing fixtures that reduce the energy needed to heat water. The laboratory building’s design had a modeled energy use that was below California state energy code requirements. After two years in operation, the building earned a Labs2Zero pilot Energy Score of 96 using I2SL’s Laboratory Benchmarking Tool in 2023, indicating it outperforms 96 percent of similar facilities in operational energy efficiency.
Excellence in Resilience and Renewable Energy
United Therapeutics Project Lightyear
DPR Construction
Affiliated Engineers, Inc.
Hanbury
Project Lightyear, located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, is a current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) logistics facility for United Therapeutics Corporation that was designed to target net-zero energy. The LEED® Gold facility, completed in 2023, was built on an underutilized soccer field and incorporated an existing field house on United Therapeutics’ campus. Supported by teams from DPR Construction, Affiliated Engineers, Inc., and Hanbury, Project Lightyear was able to reuse 70 percent of the existing structural and envelope elements of the field house, significantly reducing the embodied carbon of the project.
Project Lightyear includes several renewable energy components, including a geothermal HVAC system and an extensive rooftop photovoltaic (PV) array that covers nearly the entire roof and is expected to generate over 750 MWh of electricity per year. Because this is a critical facility, and the PV array may not be able to support the building 100 percent of the time, Project Lightyear has a backup battery system that is connected through a microgrid control system, allowing it to power the building and recharge it. The battery system and microgrid help account for the variability in weather and ensure operational resilience. The design team anticipates that with a fully operational microgrid, the entire facility should stay online for weeks, if not months, if there does happen to be an extended electrical outage. The geothermal system, as well as other energy-efficient design strategies, reduced the expected EUI for the building by 31 percent compared to the average conventional cold storage warehouse.
Excellence in Decarbonization and Building Reuse
Carleton College Evelyn M. Anderson Hall
Page
The Evelyn M. Anderson Hall at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, was completed in 2020, with design support from Page. The building includes 117,000 square feet of renovated area and 58,000 square feet of new space. Anderson Hall was constructed in the footprint of a demolished building attached to the envelopes and structural members of two existing buildings that were renovated to create an integrated complex. A geothermal central plant conversion has led to 32 percent overall energy savings for the buildings. The transition to geothermal meets 70 percent of heating and cooling needs, supplemented by electric chillers and high-efficiency boilers on the coldest and hottest days. Thanks to the combined effects of the geothermal system, as well as two 1.6-megawatt commercial-scale utility horizontal-axis wind turbines and updates to the solar energy electric grid, the building reduced greenhouse gas emissions to 8,705.5 MTCO2e in 2021, a 68 percent reduction in net carbon emissions from their 2008 baseline of over 26,000 MTCO2e.
The building’s design includes three types of shading devices that prevent unwanted solar heat gain inside the building and high-performance glazing—a feature that improves window insulation and makes building heating and cooling more efficient, reducing carbon emissions. It also allows for natural daylight throughout the year with optimal heat gain, visual comfort, and views. The exterior materials incorporate local Minnesota granite and limestone coupled with blended brick and glass, which have less embodied carbon and environmental impact. Even with a 33 percent increase in total square footage, the building's energy-efficient measures decreased overall energy consumption from 40 million British thermal units (BTU) in the original building to 23.5 million BTU in the new design, a 41 percent reduction.
Excellence in Energy Retrofits
Loyola University Health Science Campus Heat Recovery Project
Elara Engineering
At Loyola University in Maywood, Illinois, Elara Engineering supported a major heat recovery project to address performance issues with an existing waterside economizer at the Health Science Campus in early 2023. Elara added a new water-to-water heat exchanger that connects the building’s high-temperature chilled water loop to existing heat recovery coils in the air handlers, which was designed to satisfy the building’s chilled water demand with outdoor air temperatures up to 40°F, while increasing the amount of energy recovered to the air handling units. The new water-to-water heat exchangers are piped in parallel to the exhaust air energy recovery coils so that they are able to operate simultaneously. Additionally, the heat recovery chiller remains in the loop to allow it to supplement the chilled water loop in the building, when available.
The new winter cooling heat exchangers reduce the cooling fan, pump, and chiller energy, as well as the energy used for heat tracing. The energy saved from disabling equipment, along with the energy recovered from the chilled water system, more than compensates for the increased pumping energy needed for the new heat recovery loop control valves. While the new heat exchangers add pressure losses to the building’s high-temperature chilled water pumps, the improved supply temperature control has reduced the chilled water flow rate that resulted in lower pump energy. The cooling tower can also be decommissioned through the winter, reducing the building’s water use.
Lab Programs and Initiatives Awards
Overall Award
European Molecular Biology Laboratory
This sculpture illustrates the amount of plastic waste created by research activities at EMBL Heidelberg.
With numerous research groups and scientific service teams at six different locations across Europe, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is taking a comprehensive approach to achieve lab sustainability. As a provider of cutting-edge fundamental life science research, tools, and expertise to scientists in Europe and beyond, EMBL is committed to environmentally responsible and relevant research and to promoting sustainable science. The organization helped create the Sustainable European Laboratories Network of national and international green lab groups to promote sustainable science and share their knowledge to help transition European research laboratories into more sustainable facilities.
To reduce waste in their labs, EMBL introduced recycling bins for mixed cardboard and paper, as well as plastic and metal packaging materials in 2023, recycling over 66 tons of waste that year. EMBL also established pipette tip box recycling at its headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany, which has helped divert 529 cubic feet of pipette tip boxes, while other EMBL sites have implemented a supplier return scheme to collect and return empty pipette tip boxes to the supplier. To illustrate the amount of plastic waste created by research activities, members of the EMBL Heidelberg Green Action group created an art exhibition using the tip boxes that were collected for recycling, displaying four weeks of collected tip boxes as an impressive waterfall of plastic. These initiatives have contributed to a 30 percent reduction in the amount of waste being sent to landfill and waste-to-energy facilities from EMBL’s headquarters since 2022, bringing their recycling rate to 39 percent in 2023.
To encourage behavior change among researchers, EMBL set and reached a 2023 goal of having all of its 82 labs sign up to the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF); 61 of those labs received LEAF certification, and five achieved LEAF Gold! LEAF was used to encourage expanded recycling efforts, energy audits through the Scientific Instrumentation Management Team, and freezers to be turned up to -70°C. To help meet their goal of removing non-essential single-use plastics from EMBL’s sites by 2025, the organization has reintroduced glassware for applicable experiments.
Because data services constitute EMBL’s largest electricity use, their data center teams have taken the initiative to implement strategies such as automatic node shutdown, limited processor frequencies, improved cooling, transferring to more efficient data centers, and consolidating data. Thanks to these efforts, EMBL reduced energy use across all its sites by 4.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity in 2023, which is 19 percent lower than in 2021. Energy use reductions have also decreased the organization’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions from 13,878 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) in 2019 to 11,330 tCO2e by 2023, a reduction of 18 percent.
Award for Partnerships and Education
Green Labs Netherlands Foundation
In early 2021, green labs professionals in the Netherlands saw an opportunity to fill the need for a national initiative that promotes laboratory sustainability and supports the rising number of local grassroots initiatives in the country. They formed the Green Labs Netherlands Foundation (Green Labs NL), which is now run by 11 dedicated individuals. In its first few years, Green Labs NL dedicated considerable attention to educational opportunities, along with resource sharing at the national level. By doing so, they collaborated with a wide range of like-minded organizations in the Netherlands and across Europe. In 2022, the foundation organized the second edition of the global hybrid Sustainable Research Symposium, which facilitated knowledge-sharing and networking among 230 attendees from 26 countries.
As a collaborative project with the University Medical Center Utrecht, Green Labs NL has also been developing interactive e-modules focused on myriad topics, including data management, energy reduction, waste reduction, bias in science, and animal alternatives in research. These modules helped establish the national community Planetary Health In Science Education (PHISE) to inspire each other and share best practices. The team at Green Labs NL has made significant efforts to help over 15 Dutch institutes implement the LEAF certification tool, which resulted in over 120 labs obtaining LEAF certificates and counting. LEAF program implementation at these organizations resulted in reducing waste and energy usage and establishing best practice guidelines. For example, the University Medical Center Utrecht estimated that obtaining bronze or silver certification for all lab groups in the research department resulted in a 13 percent reduction in total CO2 emissions.
Award for Continuous Improvement
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Ongoing Commissioning (OCx) Program
At Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in California, their Ongoing Commissioning (OCx) program has driven significant reductions in energy and water consumption, as well as contributed to continual improvements in laboratory ventilation safety, since 2017. The OCx program includes close collaboration among the Facilities Division, the Environmental Health and Safety Division, and their Sustainability Office. The LBNL OCx approach emphasizes teamwork to solve building-wide mechanical system issues, rather than trying to fix each of the symptoms individually. The OCx team uses analytical tools such as the SkySpark platform to systematically review all aspects of a lab building’s mechanical, electrical, and lighting systems to identify deficiencies. Automated fault detection and diagnostic tools, alerts, and a regular review process help the team quickly identify and respond to issues creating excessive lab energy or water consumption or affecting lab ventilation safety.
In 2023, the OCx team began identifying and responding to laboratory-specific safety issues related to fume hood operation, space pressurization, and ventilation. From early 2023 to spring 2024, the OCx team addressed 85 lab safety concerns, improving both the safety and comfort of lab spaces at LBNL. The OCx team’s efforts have contributed to annual energy savings at LBNL of over 12,500 megawatt hours (MWh) and annual water savings of 5.6 million gallons. The OCx program has been instrumental in reducing the EUI at LBNL in its general building stock (excluding process loads) by 29 percent compared to a 2015 baseline and reducing total natural gas consumption by 30 percent.
Honorable Mention
Washington University in St. Louis
Green Labs Program
After the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the launch of the Washington University in St. Louis’ Green Labs Program, the program was finally able to take off in 2023 and has continued to grow in 2024. The Green Labs Program started by surveying over 230 labs, providing a baseline for equipment efficiency, energy use, and waste reduction. Program development fostered a strong collaboration between sustainability, facilities, and the university’s Environmental Health and Safety Department. The program created its own certification initiative for labs on campus. Labs can complete a checklist that aims to evaluate labs’ current sustainability practices and provide a robust suite of resources for sustainable changes labs can make. Nearly 50 labs are now certified participants in the Green Labs Program, thanks to their efforts to reduce lab packaging waste, promote shut-the-sash behaviors, power down lab equipment, retire old, inefficient lab freezers, and more.
Honorable Mention
Virginia Tech Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
Green Labs Program
The Virginia Tech Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Green Labs Program, launched in February 2022, is driven by laboratory managers and graduate students, with the support of operations management personnel. The program’s Green Labs internship position offers high school students hands-on experience as they support the program’s many recycling programs. With 70 percent of the Institute’s labs participating, the Green Labs Program has helped divert over 1,550 polystyrene foam coolers, 1,100 pounds of plastic film (including ice pack packaging), and nearly 7,000 pipette tip boxes from landfills, among other recycling and sustainable purchasing efforts.
Phil Wirdzek Leadership Award
2024 Phil Wirdzek Leader
Kathryn Ramirez-Aguilar
University of Colorado Green Labs Program Manager
As a passionate advocate for the green labs community for over 15 years and a leader in the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL), Kathryn Ramirez-Aguilar emulates I2SL Founding President Phil Wirdzek’s spirit and enthusiasm for promoting and fostering I2SL’s mission. After studying chemistry and working as a post-doctorate in biochemistry at the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder, Kathy founded the CU Boulder Green Labs Program in partnership with the campus Environmental Center and Facilities Management—one of the first university green lab programs in the United States—which she has been growing since 2009. Under Kathy’s leadership, the CU Boulder Green Labs Program has become an example for other programs across the world, pioneering initiatives from cold storage efficiency and equipment sharing to sustainable purchasing and shut-the-sash campaigns. What makes Kathy stand out, however, is that she doesn’t just focus on her institution, but inspires and helps others to launch and improve their own green labs programs.
Kathy was one of a handful of people to approach I2SL about increasing its reach to universities and other lab owners. For example, following a friendly competition with CU Boulder and University of California Davis, Kathy and Allen Doyle created the platform for what became the International Freezer Challenge, giving materials and management ideas to I2SL and My Green Lab to launch the challenge. She continues to promote and encourage other labs to undertake this and other efforts to educate researchers, evaluate lab space utilization, share equipment, and raise awareness of the need to connect expectations for efficiency and sustainability in the way research is conducted to science funding. She also shares her ideas and knowledge to help I2SL stay abreast of these important issues and better serve the entire sustainable laboratory community.
Kathy has been an active member and leader of I2SL for many years, serving on the Board of Directors since 2019. To bring together institutional professionals to discuss important lab sustainability and efficiency issues, share resources, and learn from one another, Kathy formed the I2SL University of Alliance Group (UAG), which she still chairs, hosting monthly calls to ensure that university and green labs personnel across the world can network with their peers. As part of the UAG, she also created the Bringing Efficiency to Research (BETR) Grants initiative, which fosters ideas for efficiency and sustainability researchers can incorporate into their grant proposals and provides insight for granting bodies to encourage environmental sustainability in the research they fund. Stemming from Kathy’s efforts, I2SL and My Green Lab launched the Million Advocates for Sustainable Science (MASS) campaign, which calls for systemic change within the global science funding system to demand sustainability. The campaign has received over 1,000 signatories—which in large part can be contributed to the University Alliance Group’s promotion of MASS at conferences, through webinars, and other speaking engagements.
Beyond I2SL, Kathy attends and speaks at research-related events, including the annual Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities and numerous virtual conferences, where she advocates for systemic changes needed for widespread, swift adoption of green lab principles and practices by the scientific community. She has contributed to many journal articles and interviews to share the benefits of green lab programs and promote sustainable lab practices. And starting in 2023, Kathy initiated and co-led the development of an introductory green labs workshop at the I2SL Annual Conference along with other university colleagues who teach attendees how to create and grow green lab programs. It's clear that Kathy’s consistent dedication, infectious energy, passion for sustainable research practices, and fostering of tomorrow’s leaders have made the green labs movement what it is today, just as Phil Wirdzek did for sustainable labs.
Emerging Leader Award
Andrew King
AstraZeneca
Accelerating sustainable science in the pharmaceutical industry is critical to decarbonizing labs worldwide; within biopharma, Andrew King of AstraZeneca has emerged as a green labs leader for his company and an inspiration to others in the field. As AstraZeneca’s Director of Safety, Health, and Environment Lead for Global Quality, Andrew has cultivated a culture of sustainability across the pharmaceutical company’s global sites, lab facilities, scientists, and other teams, reaching thousands of researchers and other employees. He has led AstraZeneca’s efforts to certify their research facilities under the My Green Lab program, resulting in nearly 100 lab certifications, including 40 that have achieved My Green Lab’s highest level of certification.
In recognition of Andrew’s efforts to encourage efficient cold storage in labs across the company, AstraZeneca has received the top organization award from the International Freezer Challenge hosted by I2SL and My Green Lab. But Andrew doesn’t just focus internally at AstraZeneca; he has inspired scientists and others across the pharmaceutical industry through speaking engagements and a strategic collaboration between AstraZeneca and My Green Lab. Looking ahead, Andrew is working with AstraZeneca’s suppliers to help reduce both the company’s Scope 3 emissions and inspire sustainable procurement practices across the supply chain.
Honorable Mention
National Institutes of Health
Green Labs Program Interdisciplinary Team
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has long been a leader in green labs initiatives. The organization works tirelessly to continue to improve sustainability in NIH labs/research campuses across the country. A key component of this effort is a voluntary, online green labs self-assessment form that helps each lab learn and evaluate their sustainability efforts. Last year, a group of 19 NIH staff voluntarily conducted extensive outreach, helped with customizing labs’ assessments, and shared participation statistics that ultimately increased participation in the Green Labs Program by 87 percent compared to 2022. These 19 NIH employees who served the Green Labs Program have earned this honorable mention for their dedication and leadership in creating a culture of sustainability and climate action across the federal research sector.
Lab Buildings or Projects Awards
Overall Lab Buildings and Projects Award:
Harvard University Science and Engineering Complex
Completed in 2021, Harvard’s new Science and Engineering Complex (SEC), supported by van Zelm Heywood & Shadford, Inc., is a 544,400-GSF, nine-story facility that has achieved sustainability goals on a large scale. The complex is LEED Platinum certified and is considered the first lab building to be certified by the International Living Future Institute’s (ILFI) Living Building Challenge in the Materials, Beauty and Equity performance areas. The complex incorporated myriad efficient and sustainable features, from energy-efficient building design and careful site planning to water reuse and stormwater management.
The complex’s unique custom-designed façade shading optimizes solar heat gain, reducing heat gain during cooling periods and increasing it during heating periods. Additionally, triple-glazed windows and skylighting dramatically decreases the need for electrical lighting within the building. To enhance indoor environmental quality, 54 percent of regularly occupied areas are daylit, and 50 percent of that area has access to operable windows. Thanks to these and other energy-efficient measures, the complex has an EUI of 83.31 kBTU/SF/year.
The complex also has made significant water reuse and stormwater management efforts with green roofs, biorention basins, and constructed wetlands. These measures ensure all stormwater falling on the site is collected, treated, and stored for reuse. Condensate from cooling coils is also collected and discharged into storage tanks. Thanks to these water reuse efforts, 71 percent of water used in the complex’s labs and 73 percent of toilet flushing water comes from collected rainwater.
The complex is not only a sustainable accomplishment for Harvard, but also extends to the surrounding communities. Due to years of industrial and manufacturing operations, the land which the complex was built on was a brownfield, polluted by lead, cadmium, petroleum hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds. During the construction process, the team removed and properly disposed of over 150,000 tons of soil and replaced it with a regenerative landscape. Outdoor green spaces are now open to the public and connect the university to the communities around it.
Adaptive Reuse
Excellence in Decarbonization:
Michigan State University (MSU) STEM Teaching and Learning Complex
MSU’s STEM Teaching and Learning Complex in East Lansing, Michigan, was a major construction and renovation project completed in 2021 supported by Ellenzweig. It includes the adaptive reuse of a decommissioned power plant, two new STEM teaching lab wings, and an entry atrium/classroom addition, turning an old space into a new, dynamic hub for science education at the university. The project adapted a coal-fired power station that served the university from the mid-1940s until 1976 into central, common spaces for both STEM and non-STEM students to gather. Legacy coal-fired boilers were transformed into collaborative areas within the complex. Both the adaptive reuse of the power plant and the use of mass timber contributed heavily to the complex’s carbon-efficient design. The project incorporated over 3,000 cubic meters of mass timber, storing an estimated 1,856 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e)—equivalent to over 4.6 million miles driven by an average vehicle!
Renovation/Retrofits
Excellence in Continuous Improvement:
Florida State University King Life Sciences Building
Affiliated Engineers conducted a large retro-commissioning project on Florida State University’s existing research laboratories Tallahassee, Florida, in 2019. This effort was part of a larger-scale, progressive program led by FSU Utilities and Engineering Services to increase safety, efficiency, and sustainability within the university’s lab facilities. At the start of the retro-commissioning process, the team identified 311 issues in the King Life Sciences Building, including unoccupied air flow rates that exceeded occupied air flow rates, incorrect air balance and pressurization, and incorrect control system graphic display. Once the project concluded, 221 of the issues were resolved, and the university is continuing to address the remaining issues. The retro-commissioning effort resulted in a decrease of energy use intensity (EUI) of 477 kilo British thermal units (kBTU) per square ft (SF) per year to 379 kBTU/SF per year—a 20 percent energy savings. The project also helped achieve an estimated average yearly reduction of nearly 1,800 tons of CO2 and a 30 percent decrease in steam consumption.
New Construction
Excellence in Energy Efficiency:
Boston College—245 Beacon Street
Boston College’s 245 Beacon Street property, supported by BR+A Consulting Engineers, is a 157,500-SF facility for interdisciplinary research and liberal arts programs. To maximize energy efficiency within the building, the team installed operable windows in individual offices, with an indicator light to notify occupants when the outdoor air conditions are ideal for natural ventilation and window sensors shut off space conditioning when windows are open. The building also includes chilled beams to decouple the heating and cooling loads of the building and provides the outdoor air only for ventilation or fume hood make-up. A water-based cooling system and heat recovery chiller shift building heating to an electric source and provide simultaneous heating and cooling, while reducing fossil fuel use and saving water. The project team found creative ways to save energy in the building’s cleanrooms by monitoring and operating based on actual cleanliness as detected by particle counters, instead of a prescriptive air change rate. This provided a repeatable and measurable level of clean operation while simultaneously reducing fan power and overall energy use. The building EUI is 89 kBTU/SF/year—a 76 percent reduction in onsite energy usage compared to the average laboratory building in the Boston and Cambridge area.
Excellence in Water Efficiency
Lehigh University Health | Science | Technology (HST) Building
Lehigh’s 190,000-gross square foot (GSF) HST Building, mostly completed in 2022, supports research into public health, chemistry, materials science, biological science, and the administrative offices of Lehigh’s new College of Health in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Supported by HGA, the building includes a variety of sustainable and efficient features, which earned it LEED v4 Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. In terms of water efficiency measures, the HST building includes a reclaimed water system that collects HVAC condensate and roof rainwater and treats the rainwater for reuse in indoor and outdoor irrigation and toilet flushing. The air-cooled chiller also eliminates cooling tower makeup water demand. Thanks to these features, the HST building has achieved 76 percent whole-building potable water savings compared to similar facilities. The building saves an estimated 688,000 gallons of potable water annually, which is enough to fill Lehigh’s varsity pool 2.5 times.
Excellence in Indoor Environment
Promega Corporation Kornberg Center
Promega’s Kornberg Center is a new 280,000 SF research and development facility in Madison, Wisconsin; designed by SmithGroup, includes many sustainable features to improve indoor air quality and environment. The space includes interior plantings and water features, operable windows in the atrium and offices, and natural daylighting that reaches 75 percent of interior space. The Center provides 100 percent outside air to the entire building with total energy recovery, improving indoor air quality. The Kornberg Center features a double-skin façade on all sides, which extends the natural ventilation cycle from two to three months to nine to 10 months. The double skin also allows maintenance to occur without closing labs, increasing energy efficiency and stabilizing the effect of outside temperatures in the labs. A total of 22 miles of in-floor tubing and a geo-exchange system provide radiant heating and cooling that both enhances occupant comfort and increases energy savings.
Lab Programs or Initiatives Awards
Outstanding Green Labs Program:
University of Georgia (UAG) Green Labs Program
Through its Green Labs Program, the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia, is not only paving the way for sustainability and efficiency within UGA labs, but also raising awareness about the need for equity within the research enterprise. UGA’s Green Labs Program focuses on waste reduction and sustainable purchasing across the university’s 1,900 research facilities and has become a model for other labs. To reduce and divert lab waste, UGA encourages researchers to scale down experiments, embrace green chemistry, and use research consumables that can be recycled or reused. UGA has donated ice packs from labs to local nonprofits to use when delivering food to local citizens in need during summer months. UGA Green Labs Manager Star Scott has also worked with the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council to develop a guidance document on sustainable procurement.
UGA Green Labs has pioneered efforts to identify more lab consumables that were created using fair labor. In partnership with the University of Colorado Boulder, Star also developed a method for institutions to objectively research how their labs’ hazardous waste is handled, and whether it is disposed of equitably or in underserved communities.
UGA Green Labs focuses on strengthening equity to in-lab operations by educating researchers on publishing and funding disparities, as well as the challenges of “invisible work” such as mentoring, fostering outreach, and other efforts in support of research that often go unrecognized. The program provides shared language for researchers that can help them better organize and address some of these challenging topics, both within the university and with funding and publishing entities. Based on UGA Green Lab’s ongoing efforts, programs across the country better understand the intersection of equity and sustainability in the lab and are inspired to seek justice through waste reduction and purchasing.
Pioneer Green Labs Program:
University of British Columbia Green Labs Program
Over the past 15 years, the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, BC, Canada, has shown an unwavering commitment to sustainable labs and continues to find new ways to educate others on best practices. Established in 2008, UBC’s Green Labs program was one of the first such programs in the world. Since then, the program has focused on researcher engagement and education, resource conservation, and continuous improvement and innovation. To reduce the high volume of waste that research generates, UBC Green Labs created a program that empowers researchers to make informed choices and implement effective strategies for reducing lab-generated waste. They also provide guidance on smart purchasing and offer a Green Purchasing Guide for researchers.
To reduce energy use, UBC Green Labs created the “Chill Up” Challenge to encourage researchers to raise the set point temperature of ultra-low temperature freezers (ULTs). UBC’s Freezer Rebate Program also provides financial incentives for purchasing energy-efficient ULTs. The program’s 2022 Shut the Sash competition enlisted researchers in the Chemistry Department to participate with 43 of their fume hoods; the effort resulted in an impressive 47,000 kilowatt-hours of energy savings. To save water, UBC launched a Waterless Condenser Lending Program in 2023 to offer researchers the ability to test waterless condensers before investing in new equipment that would replace single-pass water cooling condensers.
UBC Green Labs further engaged researchers in 2023 by launching a sustainability course focused on lab users; the university also continues to provide funding to support innovative ideas that reduce the environmental impact of research activities. Many green labs programs still look to this pioneering effort to gain ideas and inspiration.
Lab Programs and Initiatives Award for Space Optimization:
University of Colorado School of Medicine Anschutz Medical Campus
Recognizing that resource and space sharing can maximize research efficiency and prevent purchasing unnecessary equipment, the University of Colorado’s (CU’s) School of Medicine conducted a clean-up of lab space in five different buildings on the Anschutz Medical Campus. To start, teams completed lab walk-throughs of 550,000 SF of lab space to evaluate space utilization and identify clutter. They noted how many people worked in each space, how cluttered it was, and any environmental safety issues, then they rated each lab on a scale of 0 to 5 based on how efficiently space was utilized. From those walk-throughs, the team identified 44,000 SF of underutilized or unused lab space.
Based on their findings, the team was able to dispose of over 3,000 pounds of unused chemicals, including corrosive liquids, flammable liquids, oxidizers, and other types of liquid hazardous waste. Many other materials and property could be salvaged, recycled, or re-homed. Over 4,000 items were redistributed, including: consumable materials; glassware; standard equipment (electrophoresis, pipettes, PCR hoods, gel docs, and microscopes); specialized equipment (cryostat, plate reader, and microscopes); and refrigerator-freezer units. The clean-up project helped the CU School of Medicine free up space for new research and avoided the need to construct new lab spaces on the Anschutz Medical Campus, which supports the university’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Lab Programs and Initiatives Award for Education and Equipment Sharing:
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
The National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in Durham, North Carolina, has implemented two key initiatives to improve sustainability and efficiency in its laboratories. To better understand how the choices individual researchers make can reduce the environmental impact of their research, the team created a voluntary Green Researcher Self-Assessment for scientists. Each assessment takes about 20 minutes to complete and closely examines research practices. NIEHS launched the assessment in 2021 with 20 participants; 42 participants completed the assessment in 2023. Lab group participation has increased from 21 percent in 2021 to 31 percent in 2023.
NIEHS also designed and implemented a Database of Laboratory Equipment for Sharing (DOLES) to help promote and log equipment available for sharing. Previously, researchers would have to email each other this information; DOLES allows researchers to easily search for available equipment and view photos and descriptions on the NIEHS intranet. Users can find the host laboratory location, points of contact for scheduling a reservation, and any requirements for use all in one place. Since its launch in June 2022, the database has grown to include over 100 pieces of equipment from more than half of the labs at NIEHS.
Lab Programs and Initiatives Award for Climate Impact:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) SF6 Reduction Initiative
Led by LANL employees Shannon Blair and Michael Moss, this initiative aimed to reduce emissions of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) that made up approximately 15 percent of LANL’s total GHG emissions in fiscal year 2021. To avoid release of SF6 gas during unplanned/planned maintenance activities at one facility, Shannon and Michael worked with operations staff to reclaim the gas for recycling, ultimately reducing SF6 gas pollution by an estimated 200 cubic feet per year. That amount of SF6 is equivalent to approximately 912 tons of CO2. In addition, they have continued to develop and improve a gas tracking system with LANL gas operations that will help get more accurate measurements of the gas used.
Michael and Shannon have also engaged with the LANL science community to fund research in support of SF6 management. For example, working with a fusion researcher, their program funded a project to replace SF6 gas with air in a switch redesign. Between engaging with the science community, gas tracking, and recycling initiatives, they have helped LANL reduce GHG emissions by over 10 percent since 2021.
Honorable Mention
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Eurofins Biopharma Product Testing’s green team, established in 2008, initially focused on lab spaces, but has grown to encompass the entire building. They created a classifieds page on their Sustainability intranet web page in 2022 that provides details of unused lab consumables or equipment to avoid unnecessary purchases, and they donated approximately $150,000 worth of used lab equipment and unused supplies to area high schools and colleges through Science in Motion.
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Janssen Immunology Biology Lab has reduced waste over the past five years by encouraging researchers to share purchased items such as electronic pipettes and avoid duplicative ordering. They created a common, searchable, inventory of several hundred reagents, lab items, and chemicals. Staff conduct daily lab walkthroughs to ensure lights are off, equipment is powered down, and sashes are shut. They also simplified recycling practices to make it easier for researchers to participate.
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Pennsylvania State University’s Sustainable Labs Program created a Sustainable Labs Ambassadors program for students focused on equipment management practices, product selection, and waste reduction. Paired with a green lab guide, the five 2022 student ambassadors took coursework focused on sustainable research practices and learned behavior change approaches to motivate their peers in the lab; the program was such a success that the number of ambassadors increased by 15 after the first year.
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University of Alabama-Birmingham Green Labs Program has been a long-standing leader in the green labs community, and they have continued to introduce innovative sustainable initiatives into their practices. Most recently, UAB Green Labs has been working to right-size sterilizers in labs across the campus by surveying users and adjusting the sterilizers’ cycles. They also created a program to warehouse and reuse lab glassware when an investigator retires or a research project is completed.
Phil Wirdzek Leadership Award
Wendell Brase, University of California, Irvine
After decades of commitment to educating—and improving—the sustainable laboratory community, Wendell Brase has received the Phil Wirdzek Leadership Award for 2023. Wendell joined the University of California, Irvine (UCI) in 1991 and under his leadership, the university’s Smart Labs Initiative was created in 2008. In his position of Vice Chancellor, Wendell took a hands-on approach to implementing a cutting-edge program to reduce lab energy use by at least 50 percent at UCI. Under his leadership, facility staff at UCI identified aggressive efficiency opportunities in laboratories across the campus. UCI then developed a formal process for Smart Lab retrofits, as well as accompanying resources and staff training. Wendell helped spearhead a series of energy-efficient upgrades resulting in a 57 percent reduction in electricity use, a 72 percent decrease in natural gas, and 61 percent in total energy savings across 10 academic labs. Since then, UCI’s Smart Labs Initiative has become an example for other programs around the world adopting the philosophy of making their labs smarter and more efficient.
Wendell and his team’s efforts to reduce lab energy consumption was one of the prime reasons that UCI was the first university in the United States to meet President Obama’s Better Buildings Challenge to reduce campus-wide energy consumption by at least 20 percent by 2020—and they achieved it seven years early!
Embodying the same spirit as I2SL’s late founder Phil Wirdzek, Wendell has used his leadership position to lift others up in the sustainable lab community and educate his peers about energy-efficient lab practices. Wendell has given frequent presentations and workshops at both I2SL and other conferences to share how good lab design and energy-efficient retrofits can dramatically decrease lab energy use, emissions, and operating costs. For many years, UCI has co-sponsored free Smart Labs workshops with the U.S. Department of Energy to help others plan, implement, and maintain the Smart Labs program. Wendell also volunteered his time to I2SL’s Board of Directors, serving from 2011 through 2013. Without Wendell’s passion for energy efficiency and education, many research and teaching facilities wouldn’t be the sustainable laboratories we know them as today.
Lab Buildings or Projects Awards
New Construction
Sustainable Laboratory Award:
The Universities at Shady Grove Biomedical Sciences & Engineering Education Facility
Submitted by Cooper Carry, this facility incorporated many impressive features, including sustainable building materials, waste diversion, air quality management, natural ventilation, and daylighting, resulting in a very low energy use intensity.
New Construction
Sustainable Laboratory Award:
The Merck Research Laboratory in South San Francisco
Submitted by Jacobs, this facility showcases an integrated design that focuses on indoor air quality and waste reduction, and they maintain building performance with a sustainability dashboard.
New Construction
Excellence in Decarbonization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Integrative Genomics Building
New Construction
Excellence in Climate Resiliency:
Webster University, Interdisciplinary Science Building
New Construction
Excellence in Waste Reduction, Recycling, and Diversion:
Wanhua Global Research Center
Renovation/Retrofit
Excellence in Energy Efficiency:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champgain Materials Research Laboratory Renovation
Renovation/Retrofit
Excellence in Energy and Water Efficiency:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign-Holonyak Micro & Nanotechnology Lab Renovation
Adaptive Reuse
Excellence in Adaptive Resuse:
o2h co-work labs
Lab Programs or Initiatives Awards
Lab Sustainability Award:
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham piloted a green labs program across the university and implemented a recycling initiative for pipette tip boxes and other hard-to-recycle items to take their green labs and freezer efficiency efforts even further.
Lab Sustainability Award:
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Chemistry Undergrad Teaching Lab
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Chemistry Undergrad Teaching Lab undertook a fume hood hibernation program in that facility that saved a significant amount of energy, and it serves a model for other labs on campus.
Honorable Mention Award for Innovation and Inspiration:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Honorable Mention Award for Leadership in Energy and Emissions Reduction:
University of Chicago
Honorable Mention Award for Communications and Education of Green Labs Strategies:
Green Labs Initiative and Outreach at National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health
Phil Wirdzek Leadership Award
Dan Doyle, Grumman/Butkus Associates
Dan Doyle, Grumman/Butkus Associates, has been heavily involved with I2SL for nearly two decades. He served on I2SL’s board for 15 years and was the treasurer and chief financial officer for nine of those years. He has championed many important educational efforts within I2SL, including updating a series of best practices guides revamping the awards program. He also helped found the Great Lakes Chapter (formerly the Windy City Chapter), and has been instrumental in helping other chapters get off the ground.
Lifetime Achievement Award:
Otto Van Geet, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Otto Van Geet, (NREL), started working with Phil to improve energy efficiency in federal labs even before Labs21 was founded. His work at NREL helped form the basis for many conferences, best practice guides, workshops, and other educational efforts. His technical assistance helped many agencies, including EPA and DOE, become more energy-efficient. And his mentoring of other lab sustainability professionals has helped build a community of people who are passionate about improving lab performance.
Emerging Leaders Award:
Christine Alencar, University of Virginia
Christine Alencar, University of Virginia, helped lay the foundations for the university’s Green Labs program, then grow their Smart Labs program, and recently launched a more encompassing Sustainable Labs program. She has had an impressive career trajectory from scientist to green labs advocate to a leader.
Emerging Leaders Award:
Christina Greever, My Green Lab
Star Scott, University of Georgia
Christina Greever, My Green Lab, and Star Scott, University of Georgia, have worked to raise awareness about the importance of diversity, equity, justice, and social sustainability in the lab community. They first spoke on this topic in 2018 with a presentation exploring the connection between equity and the global research enterprise. In subsequent years, their research has continued to include laboratory supply chains and waste streams, as well as spatial justice considerations for the built environment. They continue to amplify these topics throughout I2SL, challenging the lab community to rethink the need for equity in our daily operations, processes and procedures.