If Green Laboratories are the New Religion, How Do We Convert the Non-Believers?
Stan Lengerich, Eli Lilly
In the relatively recent past, there has been an increasing acceptance of certain aspects of sustainable laboratory design. For instance, low-flow fume hoods are becoming a relatively standard feature of chemistry laboratories. There remains, however, an underlying suspicion that owners, designers, project managers, and users are recognizing "token sustainability" without buying into the overall advantages of holistic green design. That is, a complete Labs21 philosophy of design brings with it synergistic benefits in terms of capital costs, revenue expenditure, and overall life cycle performance that are, nevertheless, relatively infrequently realized. Such situations are result of:
- Deep-rooted traditional views of what is "right."
- Empirical design norms (historical "guesstimations:" the enemies of right-sizing).
- Project team formats that inhibit innovative decision-taking.
- Lack of due diligence (regarding the capabilities, expertise, or track record of architecture and engineering firms).
- Laziness (cookie-cutter repetition of the past).
- Vested interests.
- Nostalgia.
- Fear of the unknown.
These challenges can be overcome, but the approach must be based on a full understanding of the opportunities, a clear evaluation of the clients' needs, and a design process that includes effective methods of communication with all stakeholders. We may not need to exhibit religious zeal, but we must bring full commitment to the goal of providing laboratories that are safer, more functional, better value/lower cost, quicker in construction, and sustainable.