Sustainable assets

To enable success in meeting our current environmental objective and targets to reduce global warming emissions and waste, a Global Sustainable Engineering Network was formed in 2007 to improve communication of the subject, capture our understanding of the available technologies and develop and share best practice guidance globally.

In the US and the UK we have developed a clear strategy for the design and management of sustainable facilities, and for meeting the challenges of reducing our carbon footprint. In the future similar initiatives will be developed globally taking account of national differences in energy markets.

We are working to implement the construction metrics embraced by the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) certification schemes to ensure that sustainability best practice is incorporated into the design of our new facilities.

Our Engineering Project Process includes a specific Sustainability Checklist, which focuses our designers on selecting systems and services that maximise energy efficiency and minimise waste. These include, for example, building management systems, lighting controls, low water-use toilets and high energy-efficiency plant. Designers of new buildings are encouraged to use, wherever possible, standardised prefabricated components to maximise resource efficiency during off-site manufacture and on-site installation, to minimise the potential environmental impact associated with construction projects.

In recent years we have implemented campus-level energy metering at our larger sites. Additional sub-metering is now being introduced to allow building-by-building energy targets to be set and monitored. Energy reduction and building management optimisation programmes are ongoing on a global basis with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions and minimising waste. For example, our engineers are assessing options to significantly reduce energy usage in common laboratory containment systems without affecting safety or user performance.

To promote further reductions in our carbon footprint and in anticipation of future regulatory controls, we are undertaking pilot studies at two levels:

1. Site-wide infrastructure using a range of technologies which will help to reduce carbon emissions.  For example, Combined Heat and Power plants and renewable energy technologies such as ground source heat pumps and wind power.
2. Creation of a “sustainable building” concept that will minimise our energy consumption through greater use of design features such as daylight, thermal mass, specialist glazing, solar shading, natural ventilation, climate wall, rainwater recovery and new forms of lighting.

Recent projects that have incorporated sustainable design features include:

• Wilmington, US - the site's renovated Biomedical Research Laboratory (BMRL) and new Service Provider Center (SPC) were awarded Gold Certification from the LEED Green Building Rating SystemTM, a program of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) that recognises sustainable building design. Certification is based on sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, indoor air quality and innovation in design. The BMRL is the first laboratory in Delaware to achieve certification and only the second building in the state to be awarded the Gold level. The SPC incorporates innovative green features, including a Trombe wall (which allows free cooling and heating using thermal mass); geothermal heating and cooling; and solar panels.
• Brixham, UK – a new laboratory building completed in 2008 was rated as “Good” under the BREEAM scheme. The project included intelligent air-conditioning for the constant temperature rooms that monitors air quality room-by-room to minimise unnecessary air movement and recover and recycle waste heat from the exhaust airstream, sea water energy recovery for heating and cooling, and high-efficiency lighting controls and inverter drives.
• Macclesfield, UK – a new laboratory building currently under construction will exploit a wide range of enhanced sustainability features, such as a South facing ventilated façade, extensive offsite prefabrication of engineering services, thermal mass, modular wiring systems, rainwater harvesting, heat recovery of fume cupboard exhaust, intelligent user interfaces with the building management system and demountable pod meeting rooms for flexibility of use. We are aiming for the building to achieve a BREEAM “Good” rating.
• Alderley Park, UK – a new conference centre completed in 2008 incorporated naturally ventilated meeting rooms; adiabatic cooling using humidification in its air-conditioning and with heat recovery through a thermal wheel; displacement ventilation for its auditorium; and 'Brie Soleil' to provide passive solar shading.
• Reims, France – a new laboratory building utilises individually controlled and daylight-compensated light fittings, strobic fans from fume cupboard exhausts, variable air volume (VAV) fume cupboard extraction, efficient inverter drives and a centralised waste solvent collection system.