SUSTAINABILITY
TRENDS
White Paper
Sustainability
Trends
Shaping
Lab Design
Building a design trends and researchSustainable laboratory
sustainable A study by My Green Lab (MGL) in partnership with
future requires Urgentum in 2021 found that “more companies than
ever in the biotech and pharma industry are adopting
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commitment zero carbon goals”. With the United Nations Race to
Zero campaign, sustainable laboratory design trends
from all. and research best practices are helping move science
research towards a zero carbon future.
While the future is not certain, a sustainable The meta-analysis trend list reviewed here is merely a
future may not require a revolution, yet rather snapshot in time to provide lab architects and laboratory
a transition or evolution in thinking and practice. design teams actionable ways to make meaningful change.
As they stand now, research laboratories are Following green lab design trends will not only make lab
some of the most resource-intensive spaces in processes more efficient and sustainable, but will also
the world with their energy-intensive equipment, set the tone for the next generation of scientists to follow.
around-the-clock operations, 100% outside air
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requirements and high airflow rates.
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Sustainability
Trends
Know the research
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specimen
Research trend: Cell and gene therapies, vaccine
development, and the increased focus on personalized
medicine for cancer and neurological diseases, have greatly
increased the need for cell culture work. This may indicate
that research is shifting from studying hazardous chemicals
to living tissues and biologicals. Biologics may come in a
variety of sizes, materials, and models, but keeping them all
straight, organized and preserved has become paramount.
Lab design impact: Cell-based samples require some level
of cold, normally ultra-low temperatures (ULT) for long-term Hazardous chemical
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storage. Understanding the various types of samples studied use has reduced
will be important when optimizing for sample organization,
Research trend: As the world of life science shifts from
specialized protocols, and equipment. Optimizing laboratory
chemical to more cell-based research, the chemicals
space by selecting flexible ULT freezers that cover a wider
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cold and ultracold spectrum (-20°C to -86°C) will allow the and lab processes being utilized are less hazardous.
lab to evolve with the research. Further, adding organized With smaller quantities of hazardous materials used or
racking systems to on-site ULT freezers will optimize the eliminated completely, fume hoods – the largest strain
energy used per cu. ft. of sample storage. on energy resources, may be operated less frequently.
Lab design impact: Fume hoods and biocabinets are
being pulled from individual labs and centralized in a
communal support laboratory where they can be used
as a shared resource. This requires less high-energy
equipment to be procured and will ultimately save a
laboratory, new or refurbished by limiting the number
of fume hoods required to be running at all times.
Establish a system to organize and manage chemical
inventories. This will help eliminate future issues of
duplicate chemical purchases or expired chemicals
sitting on shelves. Sharing chemicals across laboratories
with a true ordering/organizing system will help limit
unnecessary waste and reduce carbon footprint impact.
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3 Specify ULT freezer selection early in Another aspect to consider when evaluating ULT freezer
the project to meet corporate goals options is the amount of floor space required to store the
freezer. It is possible this could be another shared resource
Lab trend: Next to fume hoods, ULT freezers are the next
amongst labs, pulling them out of the specific laboratory
greatest energy draw. In fact, one ULT freezer can use
altogether, but many of today’s models require a considerable
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as much energy as an average household, every day. ULT
amount of space – not just underneath, but around the
freezers are always running, and most achieve their low
freezer to maximize air flow. Physically mapping out or
temperatures with a cascade refrigeration system and
color-coding ULT freezer locations on the floor designate
two compressors. The multi-compressor design, and
the room and ensure enough space is available for a steady
refrigerants used, limit how cold the ULT freezers can get,
stream of HVAC airflow to encapsulate them and prevent
and often require multiple freezer models to cover the -40°C
overheating, while ensuring room for the freezer door
to -20°C range or the -80°C, -70°C and -60°C setpoints.
to swing open. The physical footprint of the unit plus the
The compressors required to reach these temperatures are
required airspace may be larger than expected.
large, making the ULT freezer consume large areas of floor
space. Given the energy demands of achieving such low Whichever freezer is chosen for the build, be sure to
temperatures, in spite of the greater energy efficiency of optimize the laboratory space by adding high-density,
3 high-volume racking systems to maximize storage
modern ULTs, each can cost around $480 per year to run.
within the freezer’s given footprint.
ULTs also have a direct effect on a lab’s environment because
the harder they work to keep vital samples protected at Outsourcing long-term sample storage to a nearby
ultracold temperatures, the more heat they release into biostorage partner may also help reduce waste, extend the
the lab. As more ULTs are using high amounts of energy life cycle of older freezers, and potentially lower operational
in a lab, an equivalent amount of rejected heat must be overhead costs, freeing up valuable time and money for lab
removed to keep surrounding spaces from becoming managers and researchers. There are numerous credible
uncomfortably hot. Labs need to consider the HVAC energy providers of these services that will monitor the health and
cost required to remove that heat. Chapter 48 of the safety of samples 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days
ASHRAE Refrigeration Handbook suggests that an average a year. If the laboratory build project will be combining
of 29% of additional energy is required to remove the heat existing laboratories into a new space – this may be a great
produced in this scenario. solution for repurposing older freezers, as well. Companies
Lab design impact: There is one ULT freezer on the market like SciSafe, part of BioLife Solutions, will even adopt the
that does not require compressors to achieve cold old freezers and provide a reduced rate for freezer storage
temperatures; it utilizes a free-piston Stirling engine instead. at their facility, as they retire and replace the old freezer
Stirling Ultracold freezers have a smaller engine design with a new, ENERGY-STAR® rated model.
and use all-natural refrigerants, requiring less space in the
laboratory without sacrificing sample storage. These freezers
also have the ability to flex temperature setpoints from -86°C to
-20°C. This added flexibility allows storage conditions to adapt
as research needs change – without buying additional units.
The inherently efficient design of the Stirling engine not only
mitigates operating energy consumption, but also reduces
the HVAC and power distribution infrastructure needed to ultra-low
support the operation of ULT freezer biobanks being used
to preserve an increasing number of biological samples
stored in research facilities. With the ability to store samples
at a higher density per unit, Stirling engine powered ULTs
also offer the potential to deploy fewer freezers for defined
storage capacities, with associated reductions in supporting
infrastructure and energy use. Stirling Ultracold ultra-low freezers
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4 Measure the right metrics 5 Don’t get hung
to avoid greenwashing up on outlets
Research trend: As the life sciences industry and Lab trend: Laboratory building standards adhere to an
companies worldwide take steps to standardize and track electric code, with an outlet every six feet. Certain research
the impact of their initiatives, common misconceptions of devices (fume hoods, ULT freezers) require specific voltages
“greenwashing” are avoidable with the right levels of action to remain operational. Of the outlets available in the room,
and reporting. Greenwashing is a term used to describe certain outlets must be mapped to support these research
companies that purport to be environmentally conscious devices. This has the potential to impact workflow, room
for marketing purposes but are actually not making layout and overall usability of the space when trying to limit
any notable sustainability efforts. Environmental, social the number of high-voltage outlets available.
and governance (ESG) metrics are being developed to Lab design impact: For ULT freezers, the Stirling engine
represent an organization’s corporate financial interests is designed to clean and modulate power, allowing that
by focusing mainly on sustainable and ethical impacts. Stirling engine-powered freezers to accept 110V or 220V.
Lab design impact: Establish project sustainability goals Selecting a modern freezer simplifies design inputs and
early and revisit them often. As a lab architect, or project limits room constraints for the fume hoods.
design lead, it is critical to understand the company’s goals
and regularly return to them when selecting materials,
equipment, or designing workflows. They can also help set
the tone when tough design choices must be made; use 6 New policies ensure
them as the project compass. Selecting equipment that is capital for change
® ®
both ENERGY STAR rated and has the ACT Environmental
Impact Factor (EIF), will only help support the cause and the Research trend: The United Nations and U.S. Federal
client may regularly need this reminder. Government continue to take steps towards addressing
the climate crisis. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has
The ACT label is a fairly new (2017), yet powerful assessment
secured $500 billion in climate funding. As expanded tax
tool for laboratory products. The ACT program, developed
initiatives emerge, these funds are flowing into the local
by MGL, ensures Accountability, Consistency, and
communities and local policy action will only help drive
Transparency (ACT) in the reporting of environmental
carbon emissions reduction.
impact data to guide sustainable laboratory procurement.
This program provides third-party verification information Lab design impact: Take advantage of energy rebates,
on the sustainability profile of laboratory products – provided on a local level, for equipment purchases.
measuring manufacturing, energy and water use, packaging, There are many states and energy providers now offering
and end-of-life impacts of each labeled product, thus rebates on ULT freezer purchases when an energy-efficent
reducing the carbon impact of laboratory supply chains. model is selected. The states now offering these programs
My Green Lab Certification and the new ACT label are include: California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Ohio,
becoming examples of common, industry-wide frameworks Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. Research all available
that are crucial for turning commitments and sustainability tax breaks and rebates for sustainable material selection.
goals into measureable outcomes. These programs provide This may be the time to suggest solar panels or other
a roadmap of practical opportunities for companies, equipment that can turn waste heat into electricity
scientists, and suppliers to take positive action. to help offset the building’s energy costs.
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7 Lab 8 Hybrid working
digitalization environments
Research trend: Scientific labs are experiencing an Research trend: Post COVID-19, fewer people are
increasing demand for greater efficiency and productivity reporting to an office every day, including scientists and
and, at the same time, a strong desire to maximize research teams. “Specific data for the life sciences are
sustainability from the organization-wide level to daily sparse, but it is hard to find a laboratory, biotech or pharma
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operations. For a team driven by analytics and scientific company nowadays without at least some remote working
results, it makes sense that laboratory operations and arrangements,” reported Philip Hunter in this EMBO Report.
efficiency would have an impact on the area of study When the pandemic forced a lockdown, work and research
through digital monitoring. still continued, proving employees and team members
could work effectively from home – or from anywhere,
Lab design impact: As mentioned earlier, digitalizing a
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with a 17% reduction in global carbon emissions.
laboratory comes with many advantages for the research
team. Data intelligence from real-time monitoring and Lab design impact: While benchwork may be difficult to
sensing devices provides better visibility and connectivity conduct remotely, many research teams have implemented
into lab operations and will help drive decisions. An better resource sharing programs and often offer equipment
efficient lab, with best-practice behaviors and efficient like microscopes, PCR machines, and mass spectrometers
processes and procedures, is likely to be more sustainable. for remote sign out in an online booking system. Remote
And a connected lab may reduce more waste and observation equipment like cameras and microphones may
increase productivity. be important where shared equipment is stored to show
test results, in live time, to other members of the research
Lab digitalization includes everything from temperature
team that may not be on-site that day. Most analytical
monitoring devices in freezers and refrigerators, to liquid
tools and programs, equipment monitoring, and video
nitrogen fill-sensing measurements for automatic cryogenic
access are available online with smart server access.
storage. Digitalization could also include transformer
Keep this in mind when designing the IT room and
monitors for measuring energy consumption throughout the
procuring lab-monitoring equipment.
laboratory. If a particular research team regularly conducts
field-based research or monitors experiments from home
over long run-times, having devices and measurement
equipment connected to the internet is critical.
When building a new laboratory – hard wire as much as
possible. This will help save on digital waste and allow much
of the equipment, such as cameras and measuring devices,
to be controlled at one central source through cloud-based
automation. This is the way of the future in homes and
healthcare facilities – controlling a laboratory setting,
equipment, lights, energy usage, etc. from a remote
location will soon be expected by the research team.
Decentralized research
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For example, retrofitting steam jacketed autoclaves
(if required for the build) with a water-saving device can cut
back water usage by 75-90%.2 Autoclaves, while great for
sterilizing equipment, reagents, and hazardous waste, require
a significant amount of water each time they are used.
innovate Installing motion-sensor lighting has long been used to
reduce unnecessary electricity usage. However, providing
a small LED task light in certain spaces may allow the
researcher or laboratory occupants to keep lights off
during the day when ambient lighting is sufficient.
Once the laboratory has been built, securing a regular
supply of hazardous materials like dry ice or liquid nitrogen
may also have a negative impact on the laboratory’s
carbon footprint. The creation of dry ice requires a large
9 Material and process innovation amount of energy to purify and condense. While the
will create greener buildings product itself may not negatively impact carbon emissions,
the energy used to create, purify and transport this material
Research trend: Through customer outreach, it is
does. Laboratories should consider more sustainable
understood that researchers are becoming more conscious
products like reusable Phase Change Materials (PCM)
of their supply chain and how the material and equipment
that are able to store and release cold energy repeatably.
supply decisions they are making will impact the overall
Ultraguard™ -70°C PCM may be a good product resource
carbon footprint of their institution. If researchers are part
for ultracold temperatures. Using alternatives to dry ice will
of the building decisions, use them to help advocate for reduce packaging waste and hassles with regular supply
sustainable design and discuss laboratory procedures and chain shortages.
processes with them to better understand how minor
Outsourcing storage altogether again may be a scenario for
tweaks to their behavior or flow could have a large impact.
consideration. If the researchers within the new facility share
Lab design impact: There are a number of readily available equipment for everyday use, but partner with a biostorage
resources that provide guidance on selecting sustainable provider for long-term storage or lab services, operational cost
building supplies and equipment. A little research goes a savings could then be put towards more research funding.
long way. The Sustainable Supplier Index brought to you
by Greenbuild may be a great resource guide to review.
It not only lists sustainable building materials and suppliers,
but walks the reader through the following chapter topics:
planning and design, funding, sustainable building materials,
waste management and emissions, energy efficiency,
water management, electric vehicles and infrastructure,
technology and tracking.
Tools like CLIMATESCOUT help architects, engineers, and
lab planners develop a building design strategy based on five
main climate classification classes. The user can filter, select,
and combine appropriate strategies for a selected climate.9
Sometimes, the supplied equipment itself may not be
efficient, but an adaptation or added control will reduce
energy and resource supplies for the forseeable future. Ultraguard -70°C PCM
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Set the foundation for a waste take-back program before
the laboratory even opens. Take-back programs are a free or
relatively inexpensive way to reduce the amount of waste a
laboratory or research institution creates. According to MGL,
companies are beginning to recognize the importance of
diverting laboratory waste and they have partnered with
reduce various suppliers, such as Kimberly-Clark’s The RightCycle™
Program for hard-to-recycle items on a local level. This
program will collect used PPE like nitrile gloves, lab suits and
eyewear. A few of the supply companies also offering these
programs include: Agilent for lab instruments, Corning for
all packaging, MilliporeSigma or New England Biolabs
(NEB) for styrofoam coolers. Research if any of these
programs work for the proposed build location and establish
the program before the first shipment of supplies ever arrives.
10 Laboratory best practices
reduce waste References:
1. “Energy.” My Green Lab, www.mygreenlab.org/energy.html.
Research trend: Scientists have become aware of the
waste produced in research. Organizations like MGL and 2. “The Carbon Impact of Biotech & Pharma.” Study Finds Rapid Progress
in Biotech & Pharma Companies Committing to UN Race to Zero through
the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) My Green Lab Certification Program, www.mygreenlab.org/uploads/
or programs like the UN Race to Zero are educating more 2/1/9/4/21945752/the_carbon_impact_of_biotech___pharma-_final.pdf.
and more research teams on the impact their laboratory 3. LabX. “Cold Storage Resource Guide.” Cold Storage Resource Guide ,
waste may have on the planet. While some waste may Lab Manager, https://go.labmanager.com/cold-storage-resource-guide.
be hazardous, the majority such as laboratory plastics, 4. “The Trends, Faces & Voices of Sustainability 2023.” Turtl.co, https://informa.
turtl.co/story/the-trends-faces-and-voices-of-sustainability-in-2023.
nitrile gloves, conical tubes and consumable products,
5. GreenBuild. “Sustainable Supplier Index.” Sustainable Supplier Index Game-
are becoming easier to reuse or recycle.
Changers In Green Building, InformaConnect, 2023, https://images.
go.informaconnect01.com/Web/UBMSCG/%7B1ac5592d-6fa3-433d-
Lab design impact: From purchasing greener products to
9828-74a6ecd7350c%7D_GB_Sustainable_Supplier_Index_(003).pdf.
better managing on-hand inventory to reducing over-ordering,
6. Shreedhar, Ganga, et al. “Is Remote Work Actually Better for the
there are a number of programs that if deployed from the Environment? .” Harvard Business Review, 7 Mar. 2022, https://hbr.org/
beginning, will have have a major on waste reduction. 2022/03/is-remote-work-actually-better-for-the-environment.
7. Hunter, Philip. “Remote Working in Research: An Increasing Usage of
According to MGL, “Establishing good inventory management Flexible Work Arrangements Can Improve Productivity and Creativity.”
practices for research supplies may significantly impact EMBO Reports, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Jan. 2019,
laboratory budgets if duplicate purchases are avoided. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6322359.
It may also significantly reduce the amount of waste 8. Desjardins, Philippe. “Sustainability through Lab Optimization in
the Digital Era.” Lab Manager, www.labmanager.com/insights/
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produced by throwing out fewer out-of-date bottles.”
sustainability-through-lab-optimization-in-the-digital-era-27965.
Another great way to impact waste is to reduce its 9. “Climate Scout.” CallisonRTKL, 21 Feb. 2022, www.callisonrtkl.com/
climate-scout-intro.
production from the start. Try reusing consumables like
pipette tips, conical tubes or repurposing supply boxes 10. “Waste.” My Green Lab, www.mygreenlab.org/waste.html. Accessed
10 May 2023.
to organize your laboratory.
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