Laboratories present one of the greatest challenges and opportunities in sustainability. Due to energy-intensive equipment, round-the-clock operations, and unique ventilation requirements, they consume as much as five times more energy per square foot than typical offices do.
On a university campus, laboratory buildings are often the largest consumers of water, the biggest producers of hazardous and nonhazardous waste, and the largest proportionate consumers of energy.
Over the past few years, scientists, facility managers, and many others have increasingly realized that it is possible to dramatically reduce the environmental impact of laboratories without compromising the integrity of research. This has propelled the rise of innovative, cost-effective solutions for improved laboratory sustainability, solidifying a permanent and much-needed shift in how scientists think about their labs as well as their labs’ impact on the planet.
