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SAVING ENERGY
Want to decrease your facility's carbon footprint by reducing waste?
Ken Kornberg, President and Founder of Kornberg Associates / Architects, is the author of an article that can tell you how:
"Trash talk: Greener ways of handling laboratory waste streams," published in the December 2008 issue of Laboratory Design Newsletter.
Read more...
Trash Talk: Greener ways of handling laboratory waste streams
Our 2008 Green Vivarium Foundation award winners have already shown how an energy saving idea - big or small - can make a difference.
Here are some of their tips:
The National Institutes of Health, Mouse Imaging Facility implemented several initiatives that decrease waste and energy use. You can too!
--Start a recycling program
--Develop a strategy for keeping lights turned off when scheduling allows
--Evaluate caging systems that use less energy
InnoVive developed a disposable cage that:
--Can be recycled
--Decreases water and energy needs
--Eliminates or significantly reduces the use of cage wash facilities
National Jewish Health's Carrie Grace demonstrated the 'Power of One' by:
--Developing a new rotation system for changing cages that decreased the number of cages and accessories that needed to be processed, reducing both labor and utility usage
--Developing a new system for caging that also decreased waste
--Starting a recycling program that reduces the amount of waste going into dumpsters
Carrie's supervisors estimate that her individual efforts to save energy and waste will ultimately save the institution between $10,000 and $20,000 per year.
The University of Colorado's Health Science Center recycles empty toilet paper rolls by putting them in rodent cages as an enrichment device.
If you or your colleagues have tips - big or small -- for saving energy or reducing waste, please pass them on! Send us an email and we'll publish your great ideas on the Green Vivarium Foundation website, and continue to build a comprehensive resource for everyone to use.
labs for the 21st century
Labs 21 offers a wealth of energy saving information, best practice guides and case studies. Check out their website today!
labs 21 century toolkit (http://www.labs21century.gov/toolkit/index.htm)
Laboratories for the 21st Century (Labs21®) is a voluntary partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy. Labs21 is dedicated to improving the environmental performance of U.S. laboratories through its partnership program, training and education, and a Tool Kit of resources. The Labs21 Tool Kit provides laboratory designers, engineers, builders, owners, and operators several resources including case studies, best practice guides, laboratory rating tools, and design process tools which can be used throughout the processes of creating or retrofitting a sustainable laboratory facility. Some of the resources available through Labs21 Tool Kit include:
--Introduction to Low-Energy Design
--A Design Guide for Energy-Efficient Research Labs
--Best Practice Guides
--Laboratory Equipment Efficiency Wiki
Labs21 2010 Annual Conference and Workshop co-sponsor is the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL). I2SL works to promote sustainability in laboratories around the world. I2SL also has a number of published documents in its E-Library (http://www.i2sl.org/elibrary/), and a paper specifically related to vivaria, (http://www.i2sl.org/elibrary/rumsey2007.html).
THE 2008 TURNKEY CONFERENCE - Baltimore, MD
The conference focused on all aspects of building or renovating a laboratory animal facility. This annual conference delivers useful information on the latest technology and trends in facility construction, renovation, and equipment.
Session 1 - Green Design is Not a Myth in a Vivarium: Strategies to Improve the Natural Environment, Economy, Health,
and Productivity in a New Animal Facility by Diego J. Rozo, AIA, LEED®,AP, NCARB, CDT, Associate, Perkins + Will and Lea Anne Leatherwood, LEED®,AP, Associate.
Click here to download a PDF (1.6M) version of the session.
The Safety Guys: LEED the Way to Green: U.S. Building Council's Path to Better Buildings
McLeod, V. and Ketcham, G. (2008, April). Animal Lab News Magazine, 7(3), 49-51.
With the focus of this issue of ALN on design and build, we thought an introduction to building green and the LEED rating system would be informative. Green buildings and sustainability are
getting a lot of media attention lately. As the debates on climate change, energy, and protecting the environment heat up, building green is gaining more and more momentum. What does this mean
for the research facility manager? What are green buildings and how are they built? This issue's column will give you a brief overview of LEED, planting the seed for your next green building project....
Click here for the complete article.
National Jewish Medical Center Minimizes Vivarium Resource Consumption Through Strategic Management
Equipment and Personnel Changes Improve Vivaria Operating Efficiency
Reprinted with Permission © April 2008 from TradelineInc.com, a registered product of Tradeline Inc., a provider of leading-edge resources to facilities planning and management through
conferences, publications, and the Internet community. Visit www.TradelineInc.com for more information.
Recent initiatives at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center (NJC) in Denver, Colo., are generating significant improvements in operating efficiency, especially in relation to water,
energy, and labor-three major issues for vivaria operations. In the past year, the organization has been able to reduce water consumption by more than five million gallons per year, which will result in
an estimated savings of more than $60,000 in 2007 due to incentives from the Denver Water Department. The savings will average $21,000 per year in the years following. Likewise, improved personnel
management and scheduling initiatives have resulted in a 20 percent reduction in staff turnover in the past year....
Click here for the complete article.
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