Labs21: Improving the Environmental Performance of U.S. Laboratories

Abstract

The Laboratories for the 21st Century (Labs21) program is a voluntary partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to improve the environmental performance of U.S. laboratories. The purpose of our presentation is to outline the components of the Labs21 program, discuss the environmental and economic benefits for participants, and identify the various ways organizations can become involved. Labs21 currently focuses on improving laboratory energy and water efficiency, encouraging the use of renewable energy sources, and promoting environmental stewardship. The program consists of three components: establishing voluntary partnerships with public agencies and private corporations, offering educational and training opportunities, and developing tools to facilitate innovative laboratory design and operation. Our presentation will also introduce the Environmental Performance Criteria, a high-value tool under development by the Labs21 program; highlight preliminary results from Labs21 benchmarking efforts; and describe several high performance laboratory case studies.