Labs2Zero Program Offers Tools to Help Reduce Energy and Emissions From Research
May 16 2024 - 2:29PM
Business Wire
Due to the energy-intensive nature of research processes and
equipment, today’s high-tech lab buildings use five to 10 times the
energy that offices do and generate significantly more greenhouse
gas emissions. To address this issue, the International Institute
for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) launched several free tools to
decrease the energy and carbon footprint of labs through its
Labs2Zero program.
With a goal to decarbonize the world’s laboratories, Labs2Zero
has already developed the first-ever Energy Score for lab
buildings. This month, I2SL released a pilot Labs2Zero Operational
Emissions Score to help lab owners and operators better understand
their how their carbon footprint compares to similar facilities.
The score, using data collected in I2SL’s Laboratory Benchmarking
Tool (LBT), is calculated using facility energy consumption data,
onsite renewable energy, and emissions factors for the local
electrical grid and all other energy utilities consumed by the
building. Lab buildings can score from 1 to 100, where 100 is
highest, on both energy consumption and operational emissions.
I2SL also released the first Embodied Carbon Benchmarking tool
for lab buildings. Based on life cycle assessment (LCA) data
submitted by the lab design community, the LBT now houses a
database of embodied carbon LCA information for materials used in
lab buildings’ structure and enclosure system/shell, based on
emissions generated by raw material extraction, transportation of
raw materials, and product manufacturing. LBT users are now able to
benchmark a proposed or existing lab building’s embodied carbon
against selected peer group buildings with similar characteristics,
including functional and structural requirements.
As part of its pilot Energy Score, I2SL added a new feature that
allows LBT users to select a target Energy Score value and
determine what their corresponding energy use intensity levels
would need to be to achieve it. This is a useful tool for lab
owners and designers to collaborate on the best ways to reduce
energy and emissions.
These tools were developed with the expertise of more than 100
professionals from the lab architecture, engineering, life science
real estate, product manufacturing, academic, and pharmaceutical
community who volunteer on Labs2Zero technical advisory councils,
along with contributions from more than 30 program sponsors. For
more information, visit www.i2sl.org/labs2zero, or access these
tools at https://lbt.i2sl.org.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240516012850/en/
Kathleen Brady Executive Director 202/236-6194