Berkeley Lab
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Sustainable Berkeley Lab

(SBL) - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Policy

Certified to ISO 50001: Driving Smart Energy & Water Management

Certified to ISO 50001: Driving Smart Energy & Water Management

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Berkeley Lab has been re-certified to ISO 50001, the international standard for energy management. The Lab has maintained certification continuously since September 2020. ISO 50001 helps ensure the Lab’s energy and water efficiency efforts are strategic, effective, and persistent. The Lab’s program has been called “best in class” and has earned national and global recognition—including the Department of Energy’s Innovative Approach to Sustainability Award.

Following ISO 50001’s standard robust guidelines involves —

  • A cross-functional team
  • A central manual
  • A strong policy
  • Partnership with the Ongoing Commissioning (OCx) Team.
  • An annual 3rd-party audit

Learn more: iso50001.lbl.gov

Sustainability Performance & Policies

Sustainability Performance & Policies

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Each year, Berkeley Lab reports on its sustainability performance toward federal, state, and University of California Sustainability Targets. The Lab also has two sustainability policies for construction and operations, which includes energy and water management.

How can you help? Put organic matter (such as food waste and food-soiled paper products) in the green compost bin! See Your Role for more ways you can support the Lab’s progress toward sustainability goals.

Performance Highlights from FY 2025 –

Key sustainability strategies include –

  • Improving building operations, including advanced monitoring and analytics
  • Following a rigorous international energy management standard (ISO 50001) 
  • Sustainable construction, such as the latest building, BioEPIC 
  • Detection, alert, and response systems set up to promptly address water leaks

Learn more:

Berkeley Lab Sustainability Policy & Performance

Berkeley Lab Sustainability Policy & Performance

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Berkeley Lab has a wide range of Federal, State, and University of California sustainability targets, and the Lab’s commitment to energy and water efficiency is formalized in a sustainability policy. Highlights of the Lab’s sustainability progress include (as of the end of FY 2022):

  • GHG emissions: 31% lower than FY 2015
  • Building energy consumption per square foot, excluding major process loads*: 29% lower than FY 2015
  • Non-hazardous waste generated: 0.42 lbs daily per person
  • Water consumption per square foot: 20% lower than FY 2007

Learn More:

* at NERSC, ALS, B88, and the B50A/50B computing centers

Join the Net-Zero Lab Visioning Team!

Join the Net-Zero Lab Visioning Team!

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Help advance the Lab’s climate goals by joining the Net-Zero Lab Visioning Team!

All are welcome! As part of the team, you will —

  • Meet monthly with a diverse, 15-20 person team
  • Explore all aspects of the Lab’s net-zero planning
  • Be creative, question assumptions
  • Plan a new climate future in alignment with the recent federal Executive Order (see below)

APPLY by Friday, 3/11/22. Members will be selected to maximize diversity of viewpoints and skills.

Learn More in this brief video

Federal Sustainability Executive Order 14057 (December 2021) set a firm path for decarbonizing federal sites by 2045, with many significant interim milestones. Highlights include:

  • Buildings: 100% Net-zero emissions for all buildings entering design phase
  • Fleet: 100% Zero emission fleet vehicle acquisitions by 2035
  • Campus: 100% Net-zero emissions from campuses by 2045
  • Electricity: 100% Carbon pollution-free electricity by 2050
  • Procurement: Zero emissions from procurement
  • Organizational Change: Engage/educate the federal workforce, incorporate climate justice
  • Waste, Water, Energy: Updated targets

Learn more in this Summary

Integrative Genomics Building Receives LEED Gold

Integrative Genomics Building Receives LEED Gold

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The Integrative Genomics Building (IGB) has achieved LEED Gold, and is the Lab’s seventh building to earn LEED certification for sustainable building design. Key sustainability highlights of IGB include:

  • On track to use just 36% of the energy of the Walnut Creek facility it replaced. This estimate is weather-corrected, factoring in the difference in climate between the two locations.
  • Using electric heat pumps rather than natural gas for space and water heating, so that greenhouse gas emissions will decline as the grid is decarbonized. 
  • Two electric vehicle charging stations installed as part of construction.
  • IGB is the Lab’s first Zero-waste building – occupants have no personal waste bins, and an ambitious employee group is actively pursuing zero waste strategies for the building.
  • The Lab’s Sustainability Standards for New Construction policy informed IGB’s design, and was in turn updated based on knowledge gained from building IGB.

More about IGB Sustainability >

Water Conservation: Always a Good Idea

Water Conservation: Always a Good Idea

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California is a drought-prone state with sparse rainfall from mid-spring to mid-fall. Compounding last winter’s below-average precipitation in Northern California, NOAA has forecast a La Niña event and continued drought conditions.

Lab Efforts to Date

  • Installed new water metering to better track usage
  • Established monitoring to optimize cooling tower water and avoid periodic single-pass cooling
  • Established policies on water management, irrigation, low-flow fixtures, and no single-pass cooling
  • Certified energy & water management practices to an international standard
  • Installed low-flow restroom fixtures

How You Can Help
Individual actions add up. B90 water use is down 44%, partly through conservation.

  • Turn off faucets when not actively using water. 
  • Notify your Facility Area Manager about leaks
  • Let us know at sbl@lbl.gov if you see any single-pass cooling (cooling water running to drain)
  • Send ideas for water conservation to sbl@lbl.gov

Water Conservation at home

UC Policy to Ban Single Use Plastics

UC Policy to Ban Single Use Plastics

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The University of California has enacted a policy to phase out single-use plastics across all of its campuses.

  • Berkeley Lab is part of this goal and has been working to reduce use of single use plastics with initiatives such as distributing free reusable cutlery.
  • Part of UC’s commitment to reduce waste, the policy includes phasing out plastic bags, single-use plastic food service items, and plastic bottles.
  • Plastics have a significant impact on the environment during manufacturing, disposal, and even recycling, though only a small fraction, especially single-use items, are ever recycled.

Learn more about the policy.